fascicles of short stellate hairs. Calyx of 5 sepals; the
two outer ones very short, oblong, blunt, clothed with
a mealy pubescence; inner ones ovate, obtuse, concave,
membranaceous, yellowish, strongly 4-nerved,
slightly covered with a mealy pubescence, the nerves
clothed with tufts of spreading hairs. Petals 5, very
narrow, lanceolate, acute, generally toothed or lacerate,
seldom entire, quite distinct and spreading, sometimes
scarcely as long, at other times nearly double the length
of the calyx, of a plain yellow colour. Stamens about
50, unequal in length, but very short, scarcely as long
as the germen: filaments smooth, yellow. Germen
downy. Style smooth, slender, and twisted at the base,
and thickened upwards. Stigma capitate, papillose.
Specimens of this rare plant were brought to us last
Summer by Mr. David Don, from the garden of Mrs.
Dickson, of Croydon, in Surrey, where the plant had
been planted by the late Mr. Dickson, who discovered
it growing wild near that place; but at present, we
believe, no person knows where to find it wild ; or it
has perhaps been sometimes overlooked or confused
with H. vulgare: we heard of its being found last year
near Dartford, in Kent; but as we have not seen specimens
of it, we are not certain if it really were the same
species; it is certainly a very likely situation for i t :
we observed the flowers of it come much larger in
Autumn, than they did in Summer, nearly equal in
size to the Cistus sampsucifolius of the Botanical Magazine,
which will most probably prove to be the same
species, as Dr. Sims was rather inclined to believe
when he published i t ; or perhaps that may be a hybrid
production between the present and some other species.
The present plant is quite hardy, thriving well in
rock-work or by the side of a bank, where it will not
be killed by too much moisture; it may also be grown
in pots, where it will flower very fine, and will not grow
so luxuriant. Cuttings, planted under hand-glasses,
root readily.