OXALIS ELEGANS-ELEGANT WOOD SORREL.

THIS pretty Columbia, bordering on Peru, at an eleHIS very pretty flowering plant was discovered by Humboldt on

vation of nearly seven thousand feet above the level of the sea. It has recently been sent by Mr. Lobb to Messrs. Veitch, of Exeter. It appears to be quite hardy, and flourishes when grown in the border in a warm, sheltered situation, and in a mixture of equal parts of sandyloam, peat, and leaf-mould, upon a dry substrata, the roots being planted about half an inch deep. If the roots are allowed to remain in the border during winter, there should be a protection of dry leaves over them, which should have a sprinkling of chopped twigs scattered upon the surface, to prevent the leaves being blown away. In April this covering must be removed, at least the dry portion of it. In cold situations it would be best to forward the plants in pots, and having them kept during winter in a cool pit-frame, and not have much water; then at the latter end of April turn them out of the pots entire into the bed or border. It is one of the prettiest dwarf bedding plants, blooming profusely throughout summer and autumn, and merits a place in every flower-garden.

It is a very pretty plant for the greenhouse or sitting-room, succeeding admirably in either.

The proper time for potting is when the leaves have began to decay and the tubers are beginning to start, at which time, too, they must be separated, in order to multiply them.

The entire tribe of Oxalis amply repays for every attention bestowed. Some of the kinds, as well as the O. elegans, are very beautiful bedding plants. On a dry warm south border in the Horticultural Society's Garden at Chiswick, during the last summer and autumn, a bed of the O. Boweii was a complete carpet of lovely rosy-crimson flowers. The

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following, too, are valuable for this purpose:-O. floribunda, red; purpurata, flesh and white; rubra-flava, red and yellow; speciosa, bright purple; with others.

There are a number of sorts which bloom freely in the greenhouse or sitting-room during winter, and are very ornamental. The O. versicolor, with its delicate handsome flowers of crimson and white, in contrast with a very neat and interesting foliage; O. variabilis, white and red; O. variabilis grandiflora, white; also the variety Simsii, white. These are peculiarly pretty. O. rubella, a pretty bright pink, admired by all; O. purpurata, pale purple, and O. purpurea, a deep purple ; O. pulchella, very neat, white; O. rosea, bright rose; O. tricolor, orange, white, and red, is particularly interesting and elegant; O. Emersonii, of a rich saffron-yellow, giving a pretty contrast with the other colours; O. multiflora, lilac, which blooms nearly all the year; O. compressa, rich yellow; O. Piotta, orange, very neat; O. gracilis, purple, small, but neat; O. fulgida, rosy-crimson, very showy; and O. flava, a very pretty yellow. All the above are most desirable plants for autumn, winter, and spring; their humble growth and profusion of flowers render them peculiarly interesting in contrast with all other winter flowering plants. They are easy of culture, increase freely, and amply repay for any attention bestowed. They do best when placed near the glass or window, so as to have full light and air on all proper occasions; also the water to have the chill taken off during the winter season. When done blooming water must be withheld, to give a period of rest to the tubers.

BEGONIA CINNABARINA-CINNABAR-FLOWERED,

ELEPHANT'S EAR.

This very handsome species is a native of Bolivia, in South America, and Mr. Bridges sent seeds of it to Messrs. Henderson, of Pineappleplace Nursery. It proves to be a species that flourishes in the GREENHOUSE, which is a valuable acquisition, and blooms from June to the end of the season. The contrast between the green stem and darker green leaves, with the rich bright red of the long and short peduncles and stipules, together with the large bright orange-red flowers, is peculiarly striking and beautiful.

The entire genus of Begonias contains about 140 described species. (A very extended descriptive list is inserted in this Magazine in October and November 1846, which is well worth possessing.) All of them are very interesting, and some of them especially beautiful. They are chiefly natives of Asia and South America (none, it is said, have been found in Africa), and require to be grown in the stove. They are of a succulent nature, some having climbing half-shrubby stems, others creeping stems; a few are annuals, and a few have tuberous roots, to which section B. cinnabarina belongs, and as they lie dormant for a season after blooming is over, they then require to have but little water, only just enough to keep the soil from becoming absolutely dry. They flourish in equal parts of light loam and sandypeat, with a very liberal drainage, and after potting they should be

placed in a warm pit or stove, near the glass, and not to have much water given till the plant has made some progress in growth. They are readily increased, some by cuttings, and others, which do not supply cuttings, by seeds, sown as soon as gathered in light sandy soil, and the pot being placed in moist heat they speedily vegetate, and by potting off the young plants, and keeping them for a period somewhat shaded, they grow quickly. All the tribe is well worth growing, and many of them are very interesting ornaments during the entire winter season.

TABERNÆMONTANA CORONARIA FLORA PLENADOUBLE-FLOWERED GARLAND TABERNÆMontana.

This fine old plant has long been known in our stove collections as Nerium coronarium. It differs from the original species in having larger flowers, wavy edges of the petals, and by having a peculiar delicious fragrance when fully expanded. It blooms during several successive months. A rich loam and turfy-peat suits it best, having a free drainage. It deserves a place in every collection. (Figured in Pax. Mag. Bot.)

PLUM

VALORADIA PLUMBAGINOIDES.

Under the name of Plumbago Larpentæ, this really lovely plant has been for the last two years 'a subject of much controversy. It inhabits the neighbourhood of Pekin, the capital of China, from whence, no doubt, it had been taken to Shanghae, and planted on the city walls, where it had been subsequently discovered by Mr. Fortune. Sir William Jackson Hooker states that Bunge gathered it near Pekin, and sent a specimen in 1831, which Sir William possesses, and that Bunge named it Ceratostigma plumbaginoides. Its generic name was founded on the minute ramifications of the stigmas, resembling horns, which Dr. Hooker considers the most appropriate, and it ought now to be so called. Since Bunge named it, Boissier referred it to Valoradia, in which the glands are entirely sessile. Rather than sacrifice a multitude of existing names, Dr. Hooker retains Valoradia, rather than its recent one of Plumbago, and dispenses with its specific title of Larpentæ also, retaining plumbaginoides.

A great deal of discussion by cultivators has occurred relative to its merits as a border flower-much praised by some, and counted worthless by others; and these results are derived, we suppose, from the different conditions and local influences under which the plants have been placed by the cultivators. The petals of the flower are of very delicate texture, and soon affected by a current of wind, and immediately become shrivelled, and its beauty gone. It should be grown in a sheltered, sunny situation, when out of doors. In such places we have seen it bloom beautifully, without injury, from day to day; whilst, on the other hand, in exposed places, we have seen the flowers fade away almost as soon as they expanded. Properly grown in-doors, it blooms beautifully at all times, as it can be kept in any desired place. In its native country it grows in dry rocky situations, subject to great summer heat; but in winter it stands a considerable degree of cold, equal to that of most of our winters in England. It is readily increased