[Illustration: _THE MAY-FLOWER (Epigæa repens). (Shortia galacifolia is the top flower)_]
-------------------+----------------+----------+--------------------------- | COUNTRY OR | COLOUR | NAME | ORIGIN AND | AND | GENERAL REMARKS. | NATURAL ORDER. | SEASON. | -------------------+----------------+----------+--------------------------- | | | Erinacea pungens |Spain; |Blue; |Somewhat resembling the |Leguminosæ |May and |dwarf-growing Genistas is | |June |this extremely rare and | | |pretty little shrub. It | | |grows very slowly, and | | |seldom attains a height of | | |9 inches, spreading out in | | |a mat-like mass rather than | | |growing in an upward | | |direction. The branches are | | |short, stiff, and spiny, | | |and what few leaves there | | |are are small. The | | |pea-shaped blossoms come | | |from the axils of short, | | |spiny branches, and are | | |blue. This plant has been | | |in cultivation for a great | | |number of years, never, | | |however, having become at | | |all common. This is no | | |doubt due to the great | | |difficulty there is in | | |propagating it. Seeds | | |appear to be the only means | | |of increase, and these are | | |borne very sparingly even | | |when the plant is growing | | |under natural conditions. | | |It has been said to be a | | |tender plant, but it has | | |withstood several winters | | |out of doors at Kew without | | |injury. Plants are to be | | |seen there near the | | |Temperate house, and they | | |flower every year. | | | Escallonia illinita|Chili; |White; |A neat evergreen shrub 4 to |Saxifrageæ |Summer |5 feet high, with pretty | | |white flowers. It is only | | |in mild districts, such as | | |the South and West of | | |England, that the | | |Escallonias are seen at | | |their best. | | | *E. macrantha (Syn.|Chiloe |Crimson |The finest of all the E. Ingrami) | |red; |Escallonias, and one of the | |Summer |hardiest. It is a | | |free-growing shrub over | | |6 feet high, clothed with | | |rich green shiny leaves, | | |and the bright-coloured | | |fuchsia-like flowers are | | |freely borne. It is a good | | |wall-plant, and stands the | | |sea-breeze well. | | | E. langleyensis |Hybrid |Rose |Raised by Messrs. J. Veitch | |carmine |between E. sanguinea and | | |E. philippiana. It has | | |small, dark-green leaves, | | |and an abundance of | | |brightly coloured flowers. | | |A good shrub. | | | E. montevidensis |Montevideo |White |Grows from 8 to 10 feet (Syn. E. | | |high, and bears its floribunda) | | |clusters of white flowers | | |in great profusion. It is | | |too tender for planting | | |except in the extreme West | | |of England and in Ireland. | | | *E. philippiana |Valdivia |White; |Will succeed as a bush in | |Summer |the neighbourhood of | | |London, where its small | | |white flowers are borne in | | |the greatest profusion. | | | E. punctata |Chili |Deep red; |A much-branched evergreen | |July |shrub 5 to 6 feet high. | | | E. rubra |Chili |Red; |Differs from the last in | |Summer |the absence of spots on the | |and early |young leaves, in the | |Autumn |flowers being rather | | |lighter in colour, and | | |borne for a longer period. -------------------+----------------+----------+---------------------------