have always been imperfect. Style of a pale colour,
very hairy. Stigmas 5, purple, reflexed.
In veer. a. the leaves are deeply lobed, or nearly trifid
and undulate, with sharper teeth; the upper petals
are more stained with purple in the centre, and the
nectariferous tube is about the length of the calyx.
In var. (3. the leaves are flat, less lobed, and bluntly
toothed; and the nectariferous tube is half as long
again as the calyx.
Both the varieties of these handsome plants were
raised from seeds by Mr. Smith, at the Earl of Liverpool’s,
Coombe Wood, but he was not quite certain of
their origin; this is now ascertained, by a plant
that flowered this last summer at Mr. Colvill’s, which
differed not in the least from the /3. var. It was raised
from the seed of P. calycinum that had been fertilized
with the pollen of P julgidum. They are very desirable
plants for collections, on account of their abundance
of bloom, the whole plant being generally covered
with flowers at the same time; but they must be
considered as autumnal bloomers, as they seldom come
in flower till late in summer. Like their nearest
relatives, they succeed well in a mixture of turfy
loam, peat, and sand; requiring but little water in
winter, and the warmest part of the greenhouse. Cuttings
root freely, planted in pots and placed on a shelf
in the greenhouse.
i f