The NATIONAL HORTICULTURAL MAGAZINE JJ(

JOURNAL OF THE AMERICAN HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY APRIL, 1951 The American Horticultural Society PRESENT ROLL OF OFFICERS AND DIRECTORS July, 1950 '

OFFICERS President, Dr. Fred O. Coe, Bethesda, Md. First Vice-President, Mr. Frederic P. Lee, Bethesda, Md. Second Vice-Prelidnd, Mrs. Robert Woods Bliss, Washington, D. C. Secretary, Dr. Charlotte Elliott, Lanham, Md. 1 Treasurer, Mr. CarlO. Erlanson, Silver Spring, Md. Editor, Mr. B. Y. Morrison, Takoma Prlrk, Md. Assistant Editor, Mr. James R Harlow, Washington, D. C. DIRECTORS Terms upiring 1950 Terms expiring 1951 Mrs. Walter Douglas, Chauncey, N. Y. Mrs. Mortimer J. Fox, Mt. Kisco, N. Y. Miss Alida Livingston, Oyster Bay, N. Y. Mrs. J. Norman Henry, Gladwyne, Pa. Dr. David V. Lumsden, Chevy Chase, Md. Mrs. Arthur Hoyt Scott, Media, Pa. Dr. V. T. Stoutemyer, Los Angeles, Calif. Dr. Freeman Weiss, Washington, D. C. Dr. Donald Wyman, Jamaica Plain, Mass.

HONORARY VICE-PRESIDENTS Mr. Frank S. Moore, Pres., Mrs. Carroll S. Higgins, Pres., American Begonia Society, American Primrose Society, 425 No. Ave. 56, 2424 N. E. 32nd Ave., Los Angeles 42, Calif. Portland 12, Ore. Judge Arthur W. Solomon, Pres., Mr. Harold Epstein, Pres., American Camellia Society, American Rock Garden Society, 702 W. Anderson St., 5 Forest Court, Savannah, Ga. Larchmont, N. Y. Mr. Carl GIant Wilson, Pres., Dr. W. L. Ayres, Pres., American Delphiniwn Society, American Rose Society, 22150 Euclid Ave., Purdue University, Oeveland, Ohio Lafayette, Ind. Dr. Joseph Ewan, Pres., Mr. Wm. T. Marshall, Pres. Emeritus, American Fern Society, Cactus & Succulent Society of America. Tulane University, 228 Security Bldg., Phoenix, Ariz. New Orleans 18, La. Mrs. Hammond Crawford, Mr. Frank E. Moots, Pres., Herb Society of America, American Peony Society, Bunnydale Farms, N ewton, Kans. Mantua, Ohio

SOCIETIES AFFILIATED WITH THE AMERICAN HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY 1951 American Association of Nurserymen, American Primrose Society, Dr. Richard P. White, Exee. Seq., Mrs. Carroll S. Higgins, Pres., 636 Southern Building, 2424 N. E. 32nd Ave., Washington 5, D. C. Portland 12, Oreg. American Begonia Society, American Rose Society, Mr. Frank S. Moore, Pres., Dr. R C. Allen, Seey., 42 No. Ave. 56. Box 687, Harrisburg, Pa. Los Angeles 42, Calif. Arlington County Garden Oub, American Camellia Society, Mr. H . R Mohat, Pres., Box 2398 University Station 1325 N. Veitch St., Gainesville, Fla. Arlington, Va. American Fuchsia Society, Bel-Air Garden Oub, Inc., Headquarters: Calif. Acad. of Sciences, Mrs. W. J. Schmioke, Treas., Golden Gate Park, 315 N. Beverly Glen, San Francisco 18, Calif. Bel-Air, Los Angeles 24, Calii American Iris Society, Cactus & Succulent Society of America, Mr. Geddes Douglas, Secy., Dr. Robert Craig, Pres., 444 Chestnut St., 14326 E. Holt Ave., Nashville 10, Tenn. Baldwin Park, Calif.

Publication Office. 82nd and Elm Ave., Baltimore. Md. Entered a8 second-class matter Januar,- 27, 1982, at the Post Office at Baltimore. Md., under the Act of August 24, 1912. California Garden Clubs, Inc., Iowa Rose Society, Mrs. Wm. D. Shearer, Pres., Mr. Wl1l. H . Collins, Sec.-Treas., 533 South Wilton Place, Iowa State Hort. Soc.. Los Angeles 5, Calif. State House. Des 1foines 19, Ia. Cali fornia Horticultural Society, ~lichigan Horticultural Society, Miss Cora R. Brandt, Sec'y., :Mrs. R. W. Summers, Secy., 300 Montgomery St., T he \Vhite House, Belle I sle, San Francisco 4, Calif. Detroit 7, 11'lich. Chestnut Hill Garden Club, National Ca pital Dahlia Society, Mrs. Warrene R. Permar, Treas., Mr. S. Owen Hatfield, Pres., 41 Crafts Rd., 9900 Cherry Tree Lane, Chestnut Hill 67, Mass. S il ver Spring, Md. Chevy Chase (D.C.) Garden Club The North American Lily Society, Mrs. Christian Wohlgemuth, 'Pres., Dr. Robert D. Rappleye, Secy., 6308 Florida St., Department of Botany, U ni versity of ~1aryland, Chevy Chase, ·Md. Coll ege Park, Md. Chevy Chase (Md. ) Ga rden Club Northern N ut Growers' Assn. , Inc., Mrs. William S. Corby, Pres.: Dr. \Villiam R. Rohrbacher, Pres., 9 Chevy Chase Circle, 811 E. Co ll ege, Chevy Chase 15, Md. Iowa City, la. Fauquier & Loudoun Garden Club Perennial Ga rden Cl ub , Mrs. J ohn Tyssowski, Pres. " Mrs. Andrew Parker. Pres .. Delaplane, Va. 3000 Garrison St.. N. W., Federated G. C. of Cincinnati and Vicinity \Vashington. D. C. Mrs. vv. R. Grace, Sr., Pres., ' Pittsburgh Ga rden Ce nter. 79 11 Hamilton Ave., Miss Jane B. Demaree, Treas., J\t!t. Healthy 31, Ohio. Mellon Park. 1059 Shady Ave., Garden Center of Greater Cin ci nnati Pittsburgh 32, Pa, Waln~t St. a~ the Parkway, ' Plainfield Ga rden Club. C1I1C1l1natl 10, Ohio ~Irs. Victor R. King, Garden Center of Greater Cleveland 826 Arlington Ave., East Boulevard at E uclid Ave' Plainfield, N. J. Cleveland 6, Ohio ., Potomac Rose Society, Garden Ce nter Institute of Buffalo Mr. R. E. Scammell, Treas., 1500 Elmwood Ave., ' 2810 Bladensburg Rd., N. E., Buffalo 7, N. Y. \Vashington 18, D. C. The Garden Club of Alexandria San Francisco Branch, M rs. Charles F. Holden, Pr~s . , American Begonia Society. 100 Rosemont Ave., Mrs. \Vm. Meyer, Sec'y., Alexandria, Va. 1422 27th Ave., ' San Francisco 22, Calif. . Ga rden Club of Danville. Juliet C. Barnett, Treas., San Francisco Garden Cl ub, Danville, Va. 465 Post St., Room 226, San Francisco 2, Cali f. Garden Club of Fairfax Tacoma Rhododendron Society, Mrs. J ohn F. Haub~ r, Pres., Mr. Leland H. Cole. Pres., Wellington Villa, 1320 F St., N .W., Rm. 330, 40 Alexandria Ave., Alexandria, Va. Washington 4, D. C. Garden Cl ub of Vi rgini a, Takoma Horticultural Club, Mrs. Frank A. Gilliam, Pres., Mr. Leland H. Co le, Pres., Lexington, Va. 1320 F St. , N. W .. Vlashington 4, D. C. Georgetown Ga rden Cl ub, Mrs. J . Edward Burrolwhs J r., Pres., \Velcome Garden Club of th e Twin Cities, 141) - 31st St., N.V:;., ' Mrs. Jewel McQui11er, Pres., Washington, D. C. 2704 S. Grand St., Monroe, La. Garden Library of Michigan, West Hills Horticultural Society MISS Margaret B. Baller, Librarian, Miss Kathleen McMull en, S:c'y.-Treas. The White House, 5420 S. W. Alfred St., Belle Isle, Detroit 7, :Mich. Portland 19, Ore. Holly Society of America, \Vood ridge Garden Cl ub, Bergner Mansion, Mr. J ohn M. Davidson, Pres., Gwynn's F all s P ark, 9728 Bexhill Dr., Baltimore 16, Md. Kensington, Md. Horizon Garden Club, \Vorcester County Horticultural Society, Mrs. George 'Willer, Secy., 30 E lm St., R. 1, Fremont, Ohio \Vorcester 2, Mass. The National Horticultural Magazine

VOL. 30 Copyright, 19 5 1 J by THE A"'( ERI CAN HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY No.2

APRIL, 1951

CONTEN TS

Victor Lell10ine and the Deutzias. HELEN M . Fox ______. ___ 83

The Tree Crapemyrtles. EDWIN A. :MENNINGER ______._____ . ___ 101

Rhododend ron A ugusti ni i ______109

Dischidia Rafftesiana. HENRY TEUSC HER ______-______.______110

Rhododendron Notes: Rhododend1'o/l. atlan1ticu111, a Stoloniferous Azalea. J OHN L. CREECH .___ 112 P inkshell Azalea. CLEMENT G. BOWERS ______112 Tacoma Rhododendron Society. LEO NA RD F. FRISBIE ______. __ .______.___ 11 4

A Book or Two ______115

The Gardener's Pocketbook : N otes on the Palms: 3. V erschaffelt1'a splend'ida. ALEX HAWKES .______121 A Costa Rican Mallow. EDWIN A. MENNINGER ______.______121 R ecen t N otes ______.. ______._____ 126

Published quarterly by The American Horticultural Society. Publication offi ce, 32nd St. and E lm Ave., Baltimore, Md. Editorial office, Room 821 \'lashington Loan and Trust Building, Washington, D. O. Contributions from all members ar e c ord i ~ ll Y invited and should be sent to the Editorial office. A subscription to the magazine is included in the annual dues to all members; to non-membeJ's the price is fi ve dollal's a year. ii RHODODENDRON AUGUSTINII Victor Lemoine and the Deutzias

HELEN M. Fox

Deutzias are charming shrubs, most co untryside, and that most of them of them low and rounded with arching grow in moist situations where there branches and rising to three fee t, a is good loam. They were named by few taller, growing as high as ten feet. Karl Peter Thunberg for Johann van The flowers are either entirely white, der Deutz, a wealthy patron. In 1904 tinted pink or sometimes more or less Maurice de Vilmorin listed twenty­ heavily marked with purple on the back seven deutzias in his garden, in 1925 of the petals and tinged with roseate Kew li sted sixty-three while in 1943 purple inside as well. Most of them the New York Botanical Garden list­ bloom in Mayor early June when the ed fifty-four. Unfortunately no record garden is predominantly white, pink or has been kept of this last collection. lavender with lilacs, ' azaleas, daphne, One of the charms of this genus is kolkwitzia, and all the flowering cher­ that all are easily raised from seeds, ries and apples as well as dogwoods and grow quickly and sometimes bloom cercis. When planted in front of the in their second season. A ll can also shrubbery, the rounded shapes serve to be propagated by cuttings from half­ mask the stiff basal branches of lilacs ripened wood taken the end of June or and philadelphus, also the trunks of later and placed in gentle bottom heat. flowering crabs and soften the line The dwarf species and hybrids can be down to the fresh green of spring lawns divided in half by inserting a spade while their exceeding whiteness or pale . down through the center of the plants. pinkness brings brilliance to the color Only four species of -deutzia were scheme, as is the way of white flowers. known before 1887 so they are mod­ The late bloomers, scabra and its va­ ern shrubs. Victor Lemoine, the great rieties, as well as staminea are hand­ plantsman, was responsi,ble for popu­ some behi!:ld hush roses especially Rosa larizing the species through the many rUb?'lJolia with its dark red foliage. stunning hybrids he made of them in Some of the deutzias, as do some his garden at Nancy in Lorraine. spiraeas and species roses, winter-kili Victor Lemoine was born in 1830 at the tips of the branches and must be at Delme not far from Nancy where cut back to tidy them in spring. Now he died in 1911 in time to escape a sec­ and then in a mild winter or one with ond invasion of his country by the a lot of snow, they come through un­ Germans. His family had been garden­ scathed and produce so generously of ers for generations and undoubtedly he their snowy, luxuriant bloom they are imbibed much garden lore as a child. worth the waiting. His training was typical of his period There are said to be about fifty spe­ and his country, a thorough schooling cies of deutzia and all, except two based on the principles of preparation whid1 come from Mexico, have been as for membership in the medieval fo und in China, Tibet, Japan or Korea. guilds. He s·l:uclied at the college of E. H. Wilson, in More Aristocrats of Vic sur Seille -and then went on his the Ga rden, wrote that during late May journeyman days, working in the es­ or June, in central and western China, tablishments 0lf the principal horticul­ they are a prominent feature of the turists of France and Belgium such as [83] 84 THE N ATION AL HORTICULTURAL MAGAZINE Apr., 1951

Van Houtte in Ghent, :iVIeiliez at Lille ventors, authors, one novel-Pecheur and Bauman at Bol willer. H e came to d'Islande, plant explorers, poets, paint­ Nancy when he was over twenty and ers, philosophers and statesmen, includ­ settled there where he produced some ing presidents of France. One was of the most beautiful perennials, an­ named for the landscape architect nuals, shrubs and greenhouse plants of Eduard Andre and another for Mattieu our time, for a large proportion of de Dombasle, a famous agriculturist fl owers in present-day gardens origi­ who was a neighbor at Nancy. One nated through the magical "ameliora­ was named after the grand chancellier tion," as he called it, of Vidor Le­ Foulherbe of the Legion D'Honneur, moine. He owned a substantial home of which Lemoine was made an officer. with greenhouses and gardens adjoin­ The names show him to have been ing. His picture shows him to have well read, well informed, a "republi­ been highly intelligent, forceful, deter­ cain" and not in any sense royalist or mined and with the uncomplicated and Bonapartist. He also named many of direct look that so often characterizes his hybrids with accurate descriptions a man who works in the soil. of their looks and poetically as well. His character is shown by the im­ Moreover Lemoine was a member mense amount of work he accom­ of the town council of Nancy from plished, putting out some new plants 1871-1888. He was active in the horti­ from 1852 nearly every year until al­ cultural societies of his day, wrote fre­ most the year of his death. This meant quently for their journals and exhibit­ selecting the "best" from hundreds of ed at the shows. He was an officer of seedlings. It was said of him that every the Societe d'Horticulture de Nancy plant he introduced was handsome, and after the first show had been held well-shaped, and of excellent color. was awarded a medal for his services. Moreover he worked for hardiness a ~ However he refused to accept it, stat­ well as looks. ing all he wanted was the accomplish­ Lemoine was a devoted family man ment of his duties and with typical and named many plants after his wife French frugality told the committee to and after his daughter-in-law, Madame keep the medal and award it to some­ Emile Lemoine. His son Emile ''1orked one else, another time. At his death by his side and was given part credit he was an honorary member of the for new introductions which were al­ Royal Society of Agriculture and Bot­ ways mentioned as coming from Le­ any of Belgium, of the Royal Bavarian moine et Fils. Lemoine was also in­ Society of Horticulture in Munich and tensely patriotic and named many a corresponding member of the Massa­ plants La France and La Lorraine, chusetts Horticultural Society in Bos­ and in proof of his local pride he used ton. He was the first foreigner to re­ La Belle Nancienne frequently. As is ceive the Veitch medal from the Royal true of all Frenchmen, "Gloire" meant Horticultural Society in England and a great deal to him and again and again shortly before', his death received the the names of Gloire de Nancy and George White medal from the Massa­ Gloire de Lorraine appear. To him his chusetts Society. tall statel y lilacs must have seemed like Lemoine lived in the golden era of people and their names are like a French horticulture. The Abbes David, \ iV ho's \iVho in the France of his day. Delavay, Farges, SouIie and other They bea r the names of scientists, in- French mISSIOnary explorers were Apr., 195 1 THE NATIONAL HORTICU LTURAL MAGAZI NE 8S

R obe rt L. Taylor D eut:;ia I011g1Jo lia Veitchi 86 TI-IE :-.JATIONAL HORTICULTURAL MAGAZINE Apr., 1951

sending home seeds and plants from made a fortune for its American in­ China, then newly opened to foreign­ troducer and he was the man who in ers. The F r e n c h government was 1893 created fuchsia Solferino. From aware of the importance of these di s­ the Japanese anemones he got Vase coveries and helped to finance some of d' A rgent, M(')nt Rose, and TUl-ban and the priests. Specimens were sent to among hybrid phloxes now in our gar­ the Musee d'Histoire Naturelle in dens are Eclaireur, Flambeau, Etna, Paris (a botanical garden) where men Coquelicot, La France, La Lorraine, like Andre Franchet, identified them Mathilde Serao, Maximilien and Ma­ and D. Bois and P. E. Duchartre wrote dame Emile Lemoine. about them. Skilled gardeners em­ Since this is to be the story of Le­ ployed by the Museum notably Elie moine and his deutzias, his other work, Abel Carriere (for whose wife Le­ important as it is, will have to be moine named a lilac) grew the seeds. omitted reluctantly. In 1875 in the Moreover the two Vilmorins, Philip Revue Horticole, Lemoine gave a list and the bishop Maurice had notable of the deutzias he ·considered most at­ gardens in which newly discovered tractive. Many of the names are now plants were grown. Catalogues of the synonyms, but among them are scabra, contents of their gardens were pub­ scabra flore pleno, discolor var. ptW­ lished of one in 1904 and the other p'bwascrms, bn~l1oni€L1'ba, parvifto1'C/', cor­ 1906 which contained over six thou­ Y111,bosa, gra11d·iftora. and gracilis (which sand plants. Lemoine was in touch he said was widely grown for forcing with all that happened in the plant between Christmas and Easter). world and received any plants and cut­ It has been a subject of discussion tings he might desire. He correspond­ by l~ lantsmen as to why Lemoine used ed with scientists at Kew and with Dr. only ten species for his hybrids when Sargent in Boston. so many others were available. J udg­ Among the hundreds of plants pro­ ing frol11 the superb results, he knew duced by Lemoine were the double they were best suited to his purpose, portulaca ; hybrids of Gladioli, strepto­ moreover each of those he chose had carpus, m 0 n t b r e tias, pelargoniums, distinctive qualities. He crossed his ceanothus, dahlias, primulas, salvias, plants both ways and often used the hy­ abutilon, pyrethrum, hydrangea, bou­ brids as parents with species and with vardia, AS{ia.ragus so e beran~£s and exo­ each other. It is difficult to tell which chorda. He was the author of many was the pollen parent in a cross for plants grown today; among the peo­ sometimes as in the parents of X Le- nies, to mention only a few, are So­ 11'l,oi?tei they are given as pa-rviflora X lange, Le Cygne. TelUrangelle and gracilis and again as grac7:1is X pm'vi­ Mme. Emile Lemoine. He also worked flora.; or with X 111;yr,iantlw" the par­ with large-flowered clematis, with wei­ ents are either parviftora X setchuen­ gelas, delphiniums and philadelphus ensis or se,tchuenensis X pGJrviftora.. while his work on lilacs is particularly The ten deutzia species Lemoine famous. His first hybrid lilac in 1878 used are the following: was X hyacinthiflora and a few of the D. discolor Hems!. superlatively handsome ones are Mme. D. ,gracilis Sieb. and Zucco Lemoine, E llen Willmott, Waldeck D. l01tgifolia Franch. Rousseau, Congo, Reaul11ur, Charles D. mollis Duthie (Lemoine may not Sargent and Pasteur. His Begonia, have used this) Cloire de Lorraine produced in 1893 D. pGJyviftora. Bge. Apr., 195 1 THE NATIONAL HORTICULTURAL l\{AGAZIXE 87

Robert L. Taylor Deutz'ia X 11.\·brida. Mont Rose 88 THE ~ATIO N AL HOHTICULTURAL ~{AGAZI~E Apr. , 1951

R obe?'t L. Taylor D eu.tzia X hybrida, Magicien Apr., 1951 THE NATIO:-.iAL HORTICULTURAL :,{AGAZl :NE 89

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RobeI'I L. Taylor Deut::;ia X hybrida, Perle Rose 90 THE NATIONAL HORTICULTURAL ~IA GAZ I" E Apr. , 195 1

D. pUJ'pllraScc lls Rehd. vated Trees and Shrubs as, D. rosea D. swbra Thunb. 1Hu/tijiora. . J). rosea carJllill ea and D . D. setchucll(,"l/.sis Franch. ros!'(/. c.rilllia with white fl o\\' ers soft and its variety corYl'nb-ifiO'I'a Rehd. r o~e on the outside of petals coming D. Sl:ebo ldi(J.J!a Maxim. frOll1 buds that are rich carmine; D. D . VilJll orillae Lemoine rosea 1/C'Nusta with large white fl ow­ ers. petals frilled on edges; D. rosea Dr. Rehder cha nged many of the fiorib llllda, fl owers pink-tinted; D. names of Lemoine's plants to conform rosea ca lJl.pamt la.ta with large open with better taxonomic practice . The cha racters belonging to all memo bell-sha ped fl owers. bers of the genus Deut::ia are as fol­ Deut::ia discolor Hemsley lows : Branches upright or arching, COlllmon in central and \-vestern covered with pealing untidy looking China, this species was sent to France bark; the height generall y 3 to 6 feet by the Abbe Delavay in 1888 and and a few up to 10 or 12 feet. They was exhibited and widely grown in have ten stamens with winged fil a­ gardens. It has arching branches, ments, often toothed or fo rked at the grows to 6 feet; long thin leaves and top; five petals and fi ve calyx lobes; broad clusters of white, occasionally starry hairs or scurf covers most of the pink-tinted blossoms. \Y. J. Bean plant and makes them rough to the in Trees and Shrubs Hardy in the touch ; leaves opposite; fl owers white British Isles says that the best form or tinted rose-purple, some hybrids is the var. 1I'Ia/or which has white or pink; either in racemes as in gracilis fa intly rose-tinted fl owers 1 inch and scahra or in corymbose panicles. across. produced on long arching The deutzias used by Lemoine and sprays. This variety, as well as the the hybrids he made from them, as also plants once referred to it as varieties, a few other hybrids follow: elegantissiJll a and fasciculata are Deu.tzia gracil-is Sieb. and Zucco mentioned in the Kew Lists for This plant grows to 3-6 feet high 1925. These last two forms are now with slender arching branches and referred by Rehder to a separate en­ white fl owers in upright racemes. It tity, X D. elegantissima (Lemoine) was introduced to cultivation from Rehd. and D. elegant is sima fascicu­ Japan about 1840 but is known to lata (Lemoin e) Rehd. since Reh­ grow also in central China and Ko­ der had evidence that they were not rea. In England and France it is forms of D. discolor but hybrids be­ considered hardy, but in the United tween fJ1trpurasce1'1s and Sieboldiana. States it is placed in Zone VI. I raised either the type or the variety From D. gracilis XSiebold·ia11a we 111n/or from seed in Peekskill where get X Deutzia can-delabrwr/1, (Le­ the plants usually fl owered about moine) Rehd. and the fo rms now June 10 although the bushes were recognized by Rehder as D. cande­ often seri ously injured by the win­ labruJII fastuosa and D . candelabruJII ters. With me the fl owers were a erectwIL, which differ from each oth­ lavender-pink with margins whiter er in minor details. than the rest. From gracilis X pLl1'purascens we Deu.tzin longifolia Franchet get X Deutzia rosea (Lemoine) This was discovered by the Abbe R ehd. and the forms now recognized David in China and along the Tibet­ by Rehder in his Manual of Culti- an border. By some it is considered Apr., 1951 THE NATIO\iAL HORTICULTURAL ~rAGAZI\iE 91'

R obert L. Taylor D elftzia X hybrida, Jo(ollde 92 THE NATIONAL H ORTICULTURAL ~1AGAZ I NE Apr., 1951

the handsomest plant of the genus, De l. ~ tzia par~'ifto ra Bge. but it is not too cold resistant and is Native to northern China this is one assigned by Rehder to Zone V I. It of the hardiest species growing well ""rows 5 to 6 feet high, with ascend­ in Zone IV. Lemoin e mentions that j ng branches covered \·vi th narrow he had twigs of if from Dr. Sargent leaves and thickly covered in season from which he made cuttings. thus with fl attened 3 inch broad fl ower establishing the in troduction in clusters. The fl owers are an inch F rance as of 1890. D r. E mile Breit­ across and ra nge from bri ght rosy schneider. author of History of Bo­ pink to crimson pink. tanical Discoveries in China had sent Several fo rms are recogni zed of seed to the A rnold A rboretum. It which Veitch i shows the best color has small pure white fl owers that ap­ and is consid ered by some the best pear creamy in tone because of the of all de utzias; elega:ns carries rosy yellow anthers. T hey appear in flat purp le fl owers in loose clusters and clusters. It grew in my Peekskill Fa'rreri is white. . garden ""here it usuall y flowered F rom longifo lia crossed with dis­ about May 23 . I t has a fain t but de­ color we have the group of plants lightful scent. now classified as X ]). hyb1'ida Le­ The cross of pa rv lflora X gra cilis moine. Here belong the garden produced the plant that is now cl ones kno\ov l1 as Magicien, Mont known as X Deutzia Le7ll oinei Le­ Rose and Contraste as recognized by moine. Bean says of X L ell/ oin ei Rehder, but Lemoine himself offered that it grows 7 to 8 fee t high, with in trade about 1914 Perl e Rose and pure \\'hite fl owers Ys" across in erect ] oconde that obviously belong here co rymbs and more beautiful than as well. T hese all tend to rath er those of gracilis. In my garden it erect growth, and show large fl owers bloo med nea r the end of May. \\'ith 'with heavy pinkish layender tinting creamy white fl owers above the rath­ on the rever e of the petals that er yell ow green fo liage. The stems shows through and gi\·es a pink tone are bri ttle and it di d not seem one of to the face of the fl owers. T hey seem the best to me. Its form cOli/Pacta. in to be not much more cold resistant my garden was more dwarf and 111 0re than their parent. compact, wi th larger fl owers in nu­ Deut::; ia II/ ollis Duthie merous panicles. F rom the hybrid Lel1lo·i'll ei crossed This seems to be one of the less with Sieboldia.l'Ia we now have the howy species . I t was introduced from China in 1901 and to th e taxon­ plant that Rehder lists as X D. co n­ omists seems interesting ch iefl y from dida (Lemoine) Rehder. My notes the soft pubescence on the under sur­ show only that the fl owers are large, face of the rather broad leaves. It is starry. open, in cl ose panicles: that hardy to Zone V I. For Lemoine it the plant is handsome, graceful and \yas u eful in producin g X Deutzia makes a low shrub. Wilsoni Duthie for which it is re­ Dell tzia pll rpurascens Rehd. was known ported to be the pollen parent, the to Lemoine as D . discolo?' pu.rpll ras­ eed parent being D. discolor, from cens. \\'hich it does not appear to differ It grows 7 feet high and is native greatly. to Yun nan in China where it was discovered by the Abbe Delavay who Apr. , 195 1 THE NATIONAL HORTICULTURAL MAGAZ[:\"E 93

R oue rt L. 7' 0'1,' 10': D eut:;ia X f;f/ ilso ll i 94 THE ~ATIO:\AL HORTICCLTU RAL ~ fAGAZ I )iE Apr., 1951

Robert L Toylor f) cllt := in sra bra purpurea Apr., 1951 THE NATIONAL HORTICULTURAL MAGAZINE 95

Deu.t2'ia scabra forl1losa 96 THE NATIONAL HORTICULTURAL MAGAZINE Apr., 195 1

sent it to Vilmorin in 1888, who in harely to Zone V. It is the last to turn gave it to Lemoin e. It is allied fl ower, coming in late June and early to discolor but distingui shed from July. The upright canes eventually it by scales on the leaves, wings on over arching somewhat have the typ­ the filaments extended beyond the ical exfoliating bark that is charac­ anthers, details for the taxonomist t.o teristic of the genus. The pure white note rather than the gardener. It is fl owers are often stained with dull a very handsome shrub but not reli­ pink or purple on the reverse but the ably hardy north of Zone V I. The petals themselves are stiff and erect. fl owers are starry, w hite suffused In the past the name D. crenata was with rosy purple on the reverse of also used for this plant. There are the petals. After D . swbra this was many garden forms of which the var. the second colored deutzia to reach plena. shows the fine white flowers Lemoine who immediately used it in stained with purple on the outer re­ hybridizing. verse of petals. P ride of Rochester F rom L emoinei X purpurasce17s is the garden name of this form. we have the plant now known as X Cal1didissi711a is probably as spectacu­ Deutzia 1I1alift ora. Rehder, although lar as any with splendid double white another a uthor gives the reciprocal fl owers. cross as the origin. Its fl owers are The cross between scabra. and X purplish in the exteriors, as is the T/il1'1701'inae produced the plant now rather long calyx. It is Dr. Rehder's known as X D.117agnijica (Lemoine) belief that the garden plants known Rehd. which interests the botanists as F leur de Pommier, Boule Rose by its inflorescence shorter and and Avalanche all fall within the bo­ broader than that of swbra and the tanical limits ot this cross. though ascending teeth on the filaments. It the last is credited in another paper was interesting to Lemoine himself to p01'viftora. X gracilis. in that it was the first time scabm From purpwrG-scells X grac1:tis we hac! been fertile to 'strange pollen.' have the plant now known as X T here are many garden variants Deutzia rosea (Lemoin e) Rehd. to X 1JIlag17 ijica, latifolia with fl owers which some hold to be handsomer nearly an inch and a halt across, than the plants that came from the creamy white in color, the calyx gray cross. Sieboldia.lla. X pu,rpurascens marked with russet and the stems here discussed under Sieboldiana . and petioles touched with pale win e E. H. "'Til son in writing of this red. It was hardy in Peekskill and species said "all hybrids of purp?'wa­ its nodding- c011lpanulate fl owers in SCC'IlS are remarkable for their abun­ their tassel-like panicles made a stun­ dant star-like bl ossoms which are ning show in early June. Formosa pleasing in the opening bud and ex­ has spreading petals of faint creamy panded fl ower. " hue. It bloomed freely with me in Deutzia scabra Thunb. Peekskill about June 9 and its flu ffy This i the best known and most bloo111s covered the plants handsome­ popular deutzia in the U nited States ly. Other form s in trade are erecta having been grown here sin ce 1822. and ebu1' l1 ea . It is native to Japan and China. It is Deutzia Sieboldi.(]Jna Maxim. the talle t of the deutzias growing This species was introduced in to to 10 feet. the mo t vigorous and Chenaul t's N ursery at Orleans. Apr., 1951 THE NATIONAL HORTICULTURAL MAGAZINE 97

Robert L. Taylor De~(tz '£a X 111ag11ifica suspensa 98 THE ~ATIONAL HORTICULTURAL MAGAZINE Apr., 1951

Robert L. Ta:ylor Deutzia Sieboldiana. var. Dippelial1a Apr., ,1951 THE NATIONAL HORTICULTURAL :MAGAZINE 99

Robert L. Taylo1' Deutzia X elegantissi111,G, 100 THE NATIONAL HORTICULTURAL MAGAZINE Apr., 1951

France about 1890. It js native to The cross setchue'll ensis corY'l77bi­ Japan, grows to about 6 feet at flora X parviflom produced the the most and is distinguished by the plant now known as X Deutzia my- deeply rugose leaves and the starry 1'iantha Lemoine. This is a beautiful flowers borne on upright panicles. hybrid produced in 1904, with nu­ Hardy in Zone V. It has a charming merous flowers in large corymbs and variety D. Sieboldia.na Dippelial/1a hardier to cold than setchuenensis. Schneid. introduced to cultivation in Generall y the parent is given as 1875, that is equall y hardy. setchuenensis but I found the record From Sieboldiana crossed with as above. purpurascen.s we now have the plant D eutzia Vl:l7/'lOril'la e Lemoine known as X De.ttzia elega1'IJtissi1'11a This species from central and west­ (Lemoine) Rehd. a group of garden ern China was sent to Maurice de plants in which Lemoine propagated Vilmorin by the Abbe Farges in not only the plant recognized under 1897 and after scabra promised to be the name above. but the varieties the most favorable to breeding. It fasciculata and arcua-ta of which the is a rapid grower and soon makes 10 last differs chiefly in the white flow­ feet. The flowers are in loose slender ers with no tint of rose color. corymbs, white and produced late The plant now known as X De·.tt­ enough to escape spring frosts. It is zia. WY11 ea (Lemoine) Rehd. came related to D. discolor. H~rdy in Zone from rosea. gmndiflora (itself a hy­ V. brid ) crossed with Sieboldia.l1a. This From Vil'l77orina e crossed with again is a group designation a Le­ 'rosea. gramdiflo'ra. (itself a hybrid) moine not only chose the plant that bears the name cal1'17ea but color vari­ we have the plant now known as X ants that are now called stellata d ell­ D eHtzl:a excelle17s (Lemoine) Rehd. siflora, .and la.ctw, terms tha't de­ Since the possibilities of hybridizing scribe them well enough. in the g,enus Deutz·ia are by no means D eutzia setchuenel'lsis Franchet exhausted it would be a splendid thing This species from central and west­ if some modern worker would begin ern China seems less showy than the task left off by Lemoine and pro­ many. It grows to 6 feet, with the duce still other hybrids that would be u ual erect canes that shed thei r hardier to cold, have more tidy plant brown bark slowly, coarse leaves and habits and show a greater and clearer white flowers in 'loose few-flowered range of pink colorings in the flowers. corymbs.' It was introduced in 1893. There are now other species* with Hardy to Zone VI. which to work and it is not impossible The var. corYlllbiflora R ehd. was to believe that we might in time have found by the Abbe Farges and in­ groups of plants that wo ul d be partictl­ troduced into France by Vilmorin larly suited to different regional re­ and offered to the trade by Lemoine quirements. in 1897. The leaves are larger and Mt, Kisco, N. Y. broader than in the type. Lemoine "' Tn order to bring them to our reader's attention we arc including here, figures of twO species not himself believed it di stinct and wrote used by Lemoine, that might be of va lue to breeders in 1898 that it was a distinct species though the species from Taiwan would not be like ly to add much to the cold· resistance of the and close to sta111ill ea, Fargesi and progenies. (See page 124, ) Eo,

setchuenellsis. (Col ·~ti1/l/t e d on page 126) The Tree Crapemyrtles

EDWIN A . MENNINGER

The common bush Crapemyrtle J anti, as the Hindus call it, 'becomes (Lagerstroern.ia indica) of southern an 80-foot handsome timber tree, sec­ gardens fronc Texas to North Carolina ond in value only to the teak (Tectona has many handsome tree relatives that gm11idis). It is found typically along are beginning to find a place as out­ river banks, but it is not confined to standing ornamentals in the wanner such places, and is plentiful, though in parts of Florida. comparatively smaller size, in many Of the perhaps 20 species of La.ger­ parts of India wher·e rainfall is as low stroemia" 12 or more are Indian. 3 as 50-60 inches. In this same rainfall Malayan, and at least one Chinese-the bracket 111uch of South Florida falls, common 'bush crapemyrtle of the South and the Queen's Crapemyrtle makes it­ which despite its scie'ntific name, L. self very much at home. Shade the indica, did not come fr0111 India. There plant abhors, so that in the forest it are representatives of the genus also grows fast and straight, reaching for in Australia, Indo-China, New Guinea the light. In the full sun of a Florida and Madagascar. The various species garden however it becomes a sprawl­ have many things in com1110n: nearly ing shrub of gigantic dimensions (some­ all of them have showy mauve to pink times 30 feet across), unless forced by flowers with wrinkled petals that woulel staking to assume the responsibilities justify spelling the C0111mon name of a t ree ; as such it will reach 40 feet CREPE myrtle; their woody capsular in 10 years. Because in its natural habi­ fruits, seated on persistent woody caly­ tat the maximum shade temperature is ces, contain many winged, usually 95-110°F., and the absolute minimum small light seeds which are uncertain is 36-65°F., the Queen's Crapemyrtle in their germinative power, a large pro­ is not found north of the Tampa-Day­ portion being as a rule infertile; their tona Beach frost line, though like some leaves have big pointed buds in the other plants it may adapt itself gradu­ axils (a feature distinguishing the ge­ all y to less protected areas, and become nus from Eugenia which it much re­ hardier when dormant. Ordinarily in sembles in habit); in many species the South Florida it holds its leaves pretty leaves wither reel. which serves as an well until February, coloring them identifying note; the bark of most spe­ bright reel , and dropping them slowly cies flakes off in patches, rather like in December and January. Once iba re, the Planetree (Platanus). it stays t hat way four to six weeks. Commonest of the tree speci.es in cul­ However the blizzard of November ti vation in F lorida is the Q ueen's 25th, 1950 that buried Ohi o and Penn­ Crapemyrtle (La.gerstroemia speciosa., sylvania wit h record snowfall and ex­ syn. L. jlos-reg iJ/o, ) which Macmillan tended its icy fingers in to Florida, pro­ calls "undoubtedly one of the most duced temperatures as low as 31 °F. strikingly showy of fl owering trees." as fa r south as Miami. The Lage1'­ Reaching maximum size in the damp stroe'l1'bia trees in the author's yard at jungles of Assam and Burma, Cey­ Stuart, Florida, were subjected to a lon and Travancore, where annual 32° temperature fo r three hours on the rainfa ll is 180 inches or more. the morning of November 26th. but high [101J 102 THE NATIONAL HORTICULTURAL 1£AGAZINE Apr., 1951

MeCld/all Lagerstroel11ia spec10sQ., flowers ma,uve to royal purple. T his 15-foot tree in full bloOl11, Jul'y 15, 1950 at the F. L. Paddoch l'esidel1ce in West Palm B each, Fla. Apr., 1951 THE NATIONAL HORTICULTURAL MAGAZINE 103

H. F. Lool1lis Th e pink form of Lagerstroel11ia speciosa) taJ? en to show characteristic posi­ tion of flower spikes at top of h'ee) gro'lving 1:n mwsery of c. R. H/ ilso/'l ) South Miami) Fla. May 19, 1950 IO-l THE 1 ATIONAL HORTICULTURAL MAGAZINE Apr., 195 1 winds prevented frost. Every leaf on period at the height of the winter tour­ L. s /, eciosa. curled up and dropped with ist season, growers have looked favor­ the cold, and this year the tree will be ably toward the introduction of other bare se l'eral months. species whi ch hold their foliage better, The fl owering period of L. speciosa and one or two of which offer longer extend over several weeks. It some­ blossoming periods, reaching even into times begin s as early as May and occa­ the winter tourist season. sionally lasts as late as A ugust. Small One of these of great promise is the plants in the sun may blo0111 when only Malayan L. floribunda, shrulbby in its 18 inches high. The inflorescence is an F lorida growth, although in Malaya it upstanding spike, far above the leaves, is a 60-foot, dense, bushy cone, its 3 to 4 inches in diameter, usually 8-12 branches hidden by the foliage. This inches, sometimes 18 inches long. The lovely tree was introduced here from spike is massed with 3 inch fl owers at India in 1934. For another picture and its base where it begins to fl ower first description, see National Horticultural and carries quantities of pink and Magazine, Oct. 1949, pp. 161-3. L. green buds towarcl its tip. When first fior·ibunda is one of several species of opening the rose-like scentless blossoms thi s genus that are inclined to flower with. 6 or 7 petals, are a rich, deep a second time in some years. The tree mauve, almost purple. They open full pictured in this article bloomed in June before sunup. On the first morning 1950, and it had a second flowering they have a fresh fluffy appearance period the first week in November from the projecting stamens. On the when it was as handsome as it was in second they look weary, the stamens early SU111m er. having coiled up in the night into a To the Harvard Botanical Garden brownish mass in the center of the in Soledad (Cienfuegos) Cuba goes fl owers, and during the day the petals credit for the introduction of two new fade to pale pink or whi te. Most of the evergreen species, L. tho?'elli and L. fl owers fa ll off by the third day, but twrb·iI'Wl.ta. There is a similarity be­ the inflorescences are ample and fl ower­ tween these two that suggests they may ing goes on for weeks. The color of the prove to be identical. Another species fl owers varies with different trees; of doubtful validity, L. tho1..t.a,rs·i, has some being purple and others being been established in Florida from seed different shade of mauve approaching received by the author from India; pink. Occasionall y a bright pink or a this proba:bly is identical with L. thor­ magenta is seen, and these are par­ elli. Benthall i11. his "Trees of Calcutta" ticularly beautiful , but the colors do not says L. tl~O?' e lli is native of Cochin come true from seed. This and other China and cont inues: "A medium-sized species of Lagerstroe11ll-ia can be grown tree . .. fl owers about 1 y,; inch diame­ from cuttings, but all of the plants seen ter, in copious axillary panicles; . .. in F lorida are seedlings. Some trees This is a tree of moderate size with a bear quantities of seed, the pecan-size, short trunk . .. and pale yellowish-grey green seed pods turning brown and bark . ... T he flow ers-in large, open persisting on the tree often into the clusters from near t he bases of the next f1o\\'ering season. leaves . . . are purple or lilac-coloured Florida growers get rich pleasure when they first open, but soon fade to from the summer beauty of L. speciosa, an almost pure white .... This tree is but because it i bare for such a long not unlike L. speciosa . . . but has much Apr., 1951 THE NATIONAL HORTICULTURAL MAGAZINE lOS

Nixon Smiley, Miami Herald

Lagerstroewl-ia, fioribu, l ~da. . Detail of fiowe?' spikes of the Malayan species. Foliage is glossier, individual blosso'ms Me smaller and more nu,111,erous than in other species. 106 THE NATIONAL HORTICULTURAL :tviAGAZINE Apr., 195 1 smaller leaves and flowers ; moreover, It is found in the dry jungle of Korat." its fl owers are less brilliant in colour The tree is alli ed to L. spec-iosa . Al­ even 'when they first open .... How- though the U.S.D.A. had no record of ever, the tree does not compete with its the survival of any of these original more splendid relative because its flow- tre·es, there is on the Van Dyck place ers open after the break of the rains, in St. Petersburg, Fla., a large tree when the]antl flowers are over. . .. which seems to belong to this species giving a fine display of blo0111 through- and efforts are being made to identify out the monsoon months .... This tree it definitely. Ther·e is also a mature -is now common in gardens and is tree from the original introduction occasionally planted in streets as an growing on the grounds of the Gorgas avenue tree .... The leaves fall during Hospital at Ancon, Canal Zone. From the cold season and are replaced in it a considerable number of trees have February and March, the new foliage '. l.i:Yeen propagated by t\le Canal Zone often being reddish in colour." l' Experimental Gardens at Summit, Ida Colthurst's "Familiar F lowering C.Z., and di stri'buted by them. Walter Trees in India" says of L. thorelli: R. Lindsay, director, says of the speci­ "Being very popular for its beauty and men at An-con: " The tree is approxi­ long season of bloom, it is le de'rnie1' mately 75 feet tall with a spread of only c1'i in tree planting." Lancaster: "An 20 feet, although it is bfaJnched to Amateur in an Indian Garden" sug- within 10 feet of the ground. The base gests that L. thorelli "which blooms of the tree is 15 inches in diameter. later (than L. speciosa) will last from The slender branches, one and a half May to October and if spikes are 're- to two inches in diameter, are drooping moved as the flowers fall a second and show evidence of having fl owered flush wi ll result. This is an ideal ama- uniformly and profusely. The leaves teur's tree." are velvety and approximately three L. tlfrb'ill GJta blooms in Florida from inches wide by seven inches long. The A ugust to November. Its much seed pods when dry are about three- branched fl ower spikes above the fo li- eighths of an inch in diameter." age may be as much as 20 inches high Through Mr. Lindsay the author and up to 10 inches wide at the base, obtained seed of L. hi1'St~ta, propagated carrying hundreds of blossoms. New many trees and di stributed them all fl owet-s open bright mauve each morn- over Florida. ing, coloring gradually pink toward It is noteworthy that the three hour evening; next day they turn creamy- exposure to a 32° temperature on N 0- white and the third day brown before vember 26th, which stripped L. spe­ they fall off. In normal weather the ciosa of its I.eaves, apparently failed to fl owering goes on for weeks. The tree injure the foliage on five other species grows tall, straight and slender ; it is of tree Crapemyrtle in the same loca­ practically evergreen. ti on. These were L. thoreUi, L. tUJr- Among recent re-introductions is a bina/a, L. thO%MSi, L. lvirs·u.ta and L. doubtful species , L. h:irs%ta, which the ftorib%nda. All of these would seem to United States Department of Agricul- be hardier than the QueLi1.'S Crape­ ture brought in' 30 years ago as P.I. myrtle; yet no definite conclusion can 52512 with this memo: "A-small tree be reached because all of the Lager­ 'with exceedingly ornamental flowers stroen1-ia, trees change their leaves at which are very large and purpli sh pink. least once a year, and sometimes o£ten- Apr., 195 1 THE NATIONAL HORTICULTURAL l1AGAZII E 107

McClellan Lage'rs.troe1'n.ia ·t14rbina,ta, spr?ci111en at West Palm' Beach h011'be of David StbW­ rock, photogmphed" August 15, .1950 .. Th-is pta,it in' full ' :SIM~ has t e ,~de17C'y to sp'rawl, thotlgh ·it is more slende'r al7.d erect when g1'own in pa.rtial shade. 108 THE NATIONAL HORTICULTURAL MAGAZINE Apr., 1951

Coutallt Lagerstroemia turbi'l'Ulta. Details of flower and foliage on field specimen at residencc of Edwin A. M enninge1', Stuart, Florida. Apr., 1951 THE NATIONAL HORTICULTURAL MAGAZINE 109 er. This leaf change is quick, so that There are several other tree crape­ the old foliage wi l1 be dropped in the myrtles that would seem to be highly course of a few days, and the new leaf desirable as ornamentals which have growth wi ll come on within a week. In not yet been established in the United effect many of the trees are evergreen. States. Seed of them is obtained infre­ The author has succeeded in estab­ quently but its ferti li ty is all gone by lishing small trees of several other the time it gets here. Particularly de- Crapemyrtles, nota'bly L. tOl'nentosa, irable is L. macromrpa, whid1 is like which. has handsome white flowers L. s pec£osa except it has larger flowers twice a year in great quantities. A par­ and leaves. ticularly good lot of seed in the sum­ Corner's "\iVays ide Trees of Malaya" mer of 1950 produced a large crop of suggests that the 100-foot Malayan seedlings. Five previou plantings over forest tree L. ovalifolia, lacks the 10 years fai led to result in a single drooping tendency of L. speciosa and germination. as it has the same beautiful flowers, In \Vest Palm Beach, Fla. on Parker " may make a better tree if it can be Avenue near Okeechobee Road. is a brought into cultivation." specimen of L. loudoili which blooms Only one other species. L. parviflora infrequently. The fl ower spikes are grows in this country, having been es­ 18-24 inches long and less than 3 inches tablished at the U . S. Plant Introduc­ diameter, individual blossoms are 1.0- tion Garden at Coconut Grove many 2 inches across, t he coloring much like years ago. Its flowers are smal1 and other species. Repeated efforts over inconspicuous, and the tree is not many years have produced only one pr01111smg as an ornamental. seedli ng from this tree, though seed is readily obtained. StuOIrt, Fla.

Rhododendron Auyustini·i out of many has survived the winters, (frontispiece) although a few have lasted more than one winter,once they were large The lovely colored plate that we use enough to be expected to survive, Not as a frontispiece in this issue we owe one o.f the few had a -chance to send up to the generous assistance of \Valter C. even one sample flower. Slocock, Ltd. of Woking, England. It is a species that has -come in fo r end­ The Pacific Northwest has no such less comment ever since it was intro­ problems and it is to be hoped that duced into cultivation in 1899. There some gardeners there wi ll not only im­ is ample record to show that seedli ngs port the best color forms known but raised from the original seed and other wi l1 also start raising seedlings and se­ lots have shown great variation in the lecting for the American scene. hues of the fl owers, and that discrimi­ Like 1110st of the members of its nating gardeners have always chosen group and their alli es, there is a jaunty the 'bluest' individuals from the lot to carriage in the plants and their flow­ grow on, with cutting propagations as ers that endears them to those gard~ n­ the best means to that end. ers who have come to the whole genus In the editor's garden, no seedlin g via the azaleas. Dischidia Rafflesiana

HENRY TEUSCHER*

The appellation "one of the most plant is exposed to very wet as well as curious plants of the world" which is to comparatively dry seasons, and the so often misused, certainly fits the ob­ moisture reserve in the pouches prob­ ject of this note. Because of its strange ably serves to tide it over. Without living and growing habits Dischidia having any connections with the Ra,/fIesiMIa never fails to attract at­ ground, Dischidia Rafflesiana crawls tention in any public exhibit but, un­ up on the trunks of trees (frequently fo rtunately, it is very rare in plant on dead trees) where only such nutri­ coll eCltions. The Montreal BotClinical ents are available as run down with the Garden, therefore, was greatly pleased rainwater. It may, therefore, be said when about a year ago it managed to to carry its lunch along in its pouches obtain, in exchange for other plant ma­ as it goes atrav.eling. It is this strange terial, the specimen show n in the ac­ and almost uniq ue habit which renders companying pioC,t ure from the Royal this plant so interesting. Only one Botanic Gardens of Indonesia at Bui­ other much rarer species of the same tenzorg, Java. As can be seen, it has genus, D. complex, which apparently been attached to the concave side of a has never been introduced into culti­ large piece of cork bark which latter vation at all, is known to produce this was filled with a mi xture of rotted type of pouches. A nother remarkable wood and Osmunda fiber. On thi s rath­ feature is that the pouches are green er inhospitable medium the plant has and actually do function also as leaves. thrived exceedingly well and now ap­ As can be seen in the photograph, pears to be ready to produce fl owers. true leaves, whid1 are round, Hat and As fa r as is known to the writer no­ fl eshy, are formed on separate shoots body yet has ever managed to get this which are the real growing parts of the plant to flower in cul tivation. . plant. Though the writer has never The most peculiar and most intrigu­ seen this plant ill its native habitat­ ing characteristics of thi s plant are its India, Malaya, Borneo and A ustralia­ pouchlike leaves (ascidia-bags) which he is inclined to presume that the are hollow inside and have an opening shoots develop during the rainy period, near the stem. Moisture collects in while the pouches are formed at the these pouches as well as organic matter, beginning of the dry season. F lower­ small insects fo r instance crawl into ing probably also occurs at the begin­ them and perish there, and roots de­ ning of the dry season. Our plant, scend into the pouches from the stem. which so far has been syringed with It was formerly beli eved that the rain water twice a day, is now, since pouches represented insect traps, some­ it has developed flow ering spurs, being what on the order of the pitchers of kept much drier. We hope to induce it, our pitcher plants, but this is undoubt­ not only to fl ower but also to form edly not the case. The pouches appar­ po uches. ently serve merely as receptacles as is The true leaves, by the way, as well attested by the roots which grow into as the manner in which the flowering them. In -its native jungle habitat the spurs are formed, show rather clearly

·CUTtllOT. ~{ontreal Botanical Garden. the cl ose relationship of Dischidia with [110] Apr., 1951 THE NATIONAL HORTICULTURAL MAGAZINE 111

D iscli idia mfjfesiana 112 THE 1 ATIONAL HORTICULT U RAL MAGA ZI NE A pr., 1951 the genus R oya (to whi ch the well­ others the succul ent Stapelias, Caral­ known wax plant, R . car ll osa" be­ lumas, and Huernias, certain little longs). The fl owers on the other hand known leafless desert shrubs, the fre­ are the main di stinguishing feature be­ quently tuberous Ceropegias, the climb­ tween the two genera, being urn-shaped ers Peri ploca, Stephanoti s (Madagas­ ( urceolate) in Dischidia., while they ca r Jasmine) and Cryptostegia ( the are fl at and wheel-shaped ( rotate) in rubber vi ne) as well as the herbaceous Roya. The D ischidias of which some Asclepias ( Milkweeds), Cynanchu111 24 pecies have been described- the and Vincetoxin 1l11 . A n exceptionall y most co mmonly cultivated one being wide range of di stinct plant fo rms, D . be ll ghalensis-are true epi phytes, showing an amazing abili ty of adapta­ always living attached to the trunks or tion to diff.e rent living conditions. The branches of trees without being para- -va ri ous ways and means developed by iti c on their hosts. They belong to the members of this famil y to overco me large famil y of Asc1 epi adaceae which, severe drought are particularly note­ to mention onl y a few, includes among worthy.

Rhododendron Notes

C LEMENT G, BOvVERS, E ditor

Rhododendro ll atla,ntic u1'll, vegetative shoots. These, when snipped A Slolo J/1:je'ro us Azalea away from the main clump, are an easy means of propagating this azalea. It In our enthusiasm over the fl ower­ will. however, propagate from cuttings ing of azaleas, we sometimes pass over which is not the rule for deciduous other characteri sti cs that are peculiar azaleas. to the group whi ch might be advan­ Mr. J oseph Gable of Stewartstown, tageous to know about. F or example, P a., menti oned that this stoloniferous R hododelldron atlant·io£11f/" in the Pent­ habit can be observed in R . p ennsylval~ anthera subseries, is the only species int11'l, which is the natural cross of R . t hat has an extensive, ramifying root altantic um and R. n udlf foru:m. system. \l\T he~' e this azalea grows, The fl owers, although incidental to chi efl y in the coastal plain of the Caro­ thi s brief note, are pinkish in bud, turn­ linas, the low damp woods are covered ing white and appearing throughout by solid coloni es that are reported to April in the Washington area, before cover a much as an acre. Some plant­ or with the fir st leaves . They are quite ings spread all over a meadow bank without equal in azaleas for fragrance. rather loosely while others grow in JOHN L CREECH rather compact clumps but all appear Division of Plant Expl orati on and Intro­ to have the stoloniferous habit. ducti on, Bureau of Plant Industry, Soil s and Last year, I dug out a section of a Agri cultural E ngineering. Plant Industry planting and washed the roots free of Station, Beltsville, Maryland. soi l. As the accompa nying plate shows, Pin kshell Azalea the root system is comprised of a num­ R hododendroN Vaseyi, th e so-called ber of rangy, ho ri zontall y-spreading Pinkshell Azalea, is not a spectacular mem) ers that eventually turn up as azalea, but it has merited and received Apr., 1951 THE NATIONAL HORTICULTURAL MAGAZINE 113

J . L. Creech Rhododendron atlanticum, clump washed free of soil to show the stoloniferous root system. 114 THE NATIONAL HORTICULTURAL MAGAZINE Apr. , 195 1 a great deal of praise, especiall y from yet is much larger and makes a more those who have grown it in cold cli­ popular garden plant. mate . A pure white-flowered fo rm occurs It come from the Blue Ridge moun­ occasionally in the wild. A good strain tains, in North Caroli na and else­ of this is being p ropagated by layei- age where, but this does not mean that it by an Eastern nurseryman, and the will not withstand sub-zero tempera­ species seems to adapt itself very well tures. Indeed it appears to be one of to propagation by this method. the ven' hardiest and. in my own ex­ CLEMENT G. BOWERS perienc ~, has endured wi nter tempera­ New York ture considerably colder than thirty Ta.co111a Rhododend?'ol1 Society degrees below zero without protection The T acoma Rhododendron Society and without the sli ghtest inj ury. Be- was organized in September of 1949. ide this, it is one of the most qui ck­ It is a local Society and confi nes its growing of azaleas. membership to the immediate environs This azalea forms a tall ish, irregu­ of T acoma and Pierce County, 'Wash­ larly branched clump of six, eight or ington. Affili ation has been effected ten feet high, rather upright in fo rm with The American Horticultural So­ and almost invariably well-covered ciety and with The Royal H orticultural with flowers in mid-May. T hese fl ow­ Society of London. A ll publications of ers are a bit unique in shape, when both organizaiti ons are circulated among compared with other azaleas, having a the Tac9ma membership. somewhat two-lipped appearance, and In May 1950 a very creditable Rho­ are of a pink and white color, resem­ dodendron Show was staged by the bling an apple blossom which is pink Society in the spacious lobby of the on the outside and white within. T he Bank of California in Tacoma. T his fl owers range up to two inches across was principally a plant show and there in size, and their fo rm gives them a were on exhibit many interesting spe­ sprightly, almost starlike appearance. cies and top fo rms of Bri tish hybrids. They are very good indeed in a natural­ T he latest developments in deciduous istic setting, and. since the fl owers and evergreen azaleas were also re­ bloom before the leaves unfold. thei r presented. Cut trusses of many species lines are interesting and the cut ma­ and fine hybrids came to the show from terial makes effective fl oral arrange­ all over the, north coast section. ments. "NIoreover, the plants grow so I n cooperation with the Washington fast and the fl owers are so abundant State Parks an experiment is being that one does not feel hesitant about conducted to determine the possibility cutting them. of colonizing r h odod~nd r o n species in Some years ago the well -known bot­ our great Pacific Rain ~orests. Large anist, Dr. John K. Small, made a new plants of R. F O1't'lltnei are bei1flg used genu of this species, calli ng it B iltia fo r the initial, exper im en t~ ; Mr. H . L. Vase'j'1. after the Bi ltmore estate near Larson of the Tacoma Society ' origi­ Ashe\'ille, :;-J. C. where it grows. It nated the idea behind the experiment has 110t proved sufficiently unique, how­ and donated the plants to be used. ever. to j usti.fy such great · di'stinction A sikcessful ·field · trip was made in and. hence, Small's new name' has been ' A Li g'ust '1950 fo r the purpose of collect­ discontinued. In this. it is closely re­ ing plants of R. albiftor-b!111/,. Collection lated to the Rhodora, R. cO'1wdense, was made in the Cascade mountains at Apr., 1951 THE NATIONAL HORTICULTURAL MAGAZINE 115 an elevation of 4700 feet. P lants of Tacoma group is sending plants of Pa­ these will be furnished to several east­ cifi c slope natives that are mi ssing in ern conectors who are interested in the great Biltmore collection. Dr. Da­ assembling representative American vid G. LeCl!ch of Brookville, Pennsyl­ specles. vania, has also sent some important Members of the Society donated rho­ variants to the Tacoma collection. The dodendrons of fine variety and large spring of 1951 will see a near comple­ size to the College of Puget Sound in tion of the Tacoma Coll ection, but the Tacoma for a landscaping project. addition of variants will be made as Yearly donations will be made to this fast as they become available. campus. A systematic attempt is being made Donation of 57 large rhododendron by Society members to import top plants for the Washington State Parks forms of species and hybrids from Eng­ was arranged by the Society through land. Some of the great private gar­ t he generous cooperation of H . L. Lar­ dens in England are cooperating by son and Director Brian O. Mulligan of sending grafting scions and a collec­ the University of Washington A rbo­ tion of the very fine Edgar Stead orig­ retum. inations is being sent from New Zea­ land. The Tacoma Coll ection of native A collection of rhododendron litera­ American species bei ng assembled by ture is being donated to the Tacoma the Society is already a noteworthy P ublic L ibrary. T his collection in­ achievement. Bil tmore Estate of Ashe­ cludes both American and British ville, North Carolina, has been very books. helpful and has furnished us plants of LEONARD F. FRISBIE many fine species. In exchange the Tacoma, Vvash. A Book or Two

BOTANY FOR GARDENERS. R. P. Faulk­ well much to the joy of the technical ner. · Chas. Scribner's Sons, New man! York, 1950. 236 pages, illustrated. The author here, it seems to this re­ $3.50. viewer, has succeeded admirably in This book is commended to all gar­ writing so that the technical man can deners, even to those who may feel that have little grievance; and the garden­ they have passed the stages where the er, especially the beginning gardener, reading of so simple a text is their due will have the way opened to fu ller un­ and portion. derstanding of his own field and a first It is lamentably true that very often, insight into the field of the research possibly too often texts written by per­ man. sons steeped in the field of botany to By all means, get this book. wh6m their own vocabulary has be­ :MAIZE IN THE GREAT HERBALS. John conie routine, to whom certain man­ J. Finan, Chronica Botanica, 1950. ners of thinking haNe become subcon­ $3.00. scious habits, fai l when they attempt to" write for the layman; it 'is als'o true As wheat, its genetics, crop improve­ that-the gardener w.bo ··aspires/'to write ment, and introduction into .new areas o ut sid~ 'of h.is ;Own .fidd, often fai ls as of cultivation was the cereal of the 116 THE NATIONAL HORTICULTURAL jvrAGAZINE Apr., 1951 nineteenth century, corn is the twenti­ AZALEAS, CAMELLIAS, GA RDENIAS . Ben eth century cereal. Hybrid corns, corn A rthur Davi s. Hope Haven Gar­ genetics (corn of all plants is the most dens, Meridian, Miss. 114 pages, intimately known for its chromosomes illustrated. and gene acti ons), the ancient cultural This is a rewritten and somewhat hi story of corn-all these subj ects have enlarob 'e d edition of Mr. Davis' earlier been tapped in the recent decades and book. All changes are fo r the better now we have an inspection of the great but this reviewer who has grown aza­ herbals for corn. Corn was first illus­ leas for many a year, would like even trated in the herbals only fifty years more changes! That, however, is pure­ after the discovery of America. and ly personal. was probably correctly then believed The book is intended to be a begin­ by the herbalists to have been brought ner's book and for the South only, and into Europe from Asia. 'Turkey not an ultimate handbook on the sub­ \ !\Theat' or FrU71'len.t~b1% tu.rcicu.1% is the ject. Basically the advice is sound and name used by Fuchs in hi s De historia southerners for whom it is undoubtedly sti1'p'illa,n (1542) and by thirteen sub­ intended will know just how to inter­ sequent herbalists uv to the Itali an pret the advice for their own particular Matthiolus in 1696. "Turcicum" as a area. The reviewer's area is sandy term meant "foreign" because of the in­ soil, miserably defici ent in humus and troduction by the Turks of many plant with a wonderfully low level of nutri­ and animal products into \ !\T estern Eu­ ents, but there is not enough advice rope. It was from a similar misconcep­ for him on Gulf Coast Mississippi nor tion that the strictly American bi rd for others who work on poor Coastal was call ed Turkey. \ !\T here 'Turkey Plain soil s. Not enough iuformation Wheat' as illustrated by Fuchs came is given about the dozens of perfectly from is problematical (the highlands good 'Indian azaleas' which can be had of Indo-China have been suggested as in the South from the South's own its ancient source) . It evidently did nurseries, apd the paragraphs on the not prod uce prop roots as did the corn so-called Belgians are far too skimpy. of American origin s. The second type both in naming varieties and in discuss­ of maize was reported somewhat later in g their usefulness. But after all, not by the herbali sts. in the latter h ~ lf of all gardeners are collectors! the sixteenth century. and was beIJeved Come on now, Mr. Davis, and write to be of American origins. Current us another beginner's book, but this opinion makes this second corn type time for bright beginners, not just run an introduction into Europe of the of the mill! Conqui stadores. Finan's scholarly ac­ The camellia portions seem less count. fu ll y documented, with 25 re­ lacking in background data which is productions from old wood cuts. is a reall y where the azalea part falls down, reprint of a compact 42-page article and certainly sound in some of the publi shed in the Annals of the Mis­ varietal collections, etc. As far as this souri Botanical Garden two years ago. reviewer is concerned and he is a be­ This beautifully designed book should ginner in camellias, there is no law introduce a fascinating subj ect to a that can be laid down, that would suit wide circle of readers who have a flair most Southerners, about which are for hi story. good and which are poor camellias. JOSEPH EWAN Look over the flowers in all the best Apr., 1951 THE NATIONAL HORTICULTURAL MAGAZINE 117 collections, on the bush and not ill a The reviewer has not the slightest show, and choose what you like. Mean­ intention of becoming a lily grower time Mr. Davis' li sts are good. and knows that there is no moral issue The gardenia section ·could be ex­ at stake, but if anything could persuade panded a little more to great ad van­ him, it would be this book. Everything tage but the meat is there now. is here, current reporting and careful recording of all that has been done, \\'ORLD GEOGRAPHY OF PETROLEUM. newly set in order and corrected if Edited by 'Wallace E. P ratt and need be. The illustrations are splen­ Dorothy Good for The American did, comforting too, for not everyone Geographical Society, P ri nceton represents a lily at its absolute opti­ University Press, Princeton, N. J. mum, but well enough chosen so no 1950. 464 pages, illustrated. $7.50. trumpet lily i shown in that slightly There are many contributo rs to this shoddy pose that co mes just before the r esearch volume which of course is no segments fall, and no Martagon is be­ garden book, and the plant life that trayed in that ultimate stage when it is was concerned with the ages before the so far rolled back on itself that it has petroleum formed and even more ages lost all grace. before man became concerned with it, For good measure there are given are not within the usual field of knowl­ also discussion of Card oc-n:nu1 '1'!· (once edge of the garden-minded. a Lili U 1'11', but now returned to its fo r­ There would be absolutely no excuse mer state), N othoh:riol'l (much the for mentioning it in such a publication same fate), N O1nocharis (which in its as our own, if it were not for the fact loveliest forms is better than any lily). that Americans are going to the four Fritilla1"l'a, (lovely in some species but corners of the world to work in petro­ too often given to the most bilious of leum fields, some of which li e in areas colors), and K or 0 l/eowia, (apparently where a plantsman might copceivably little known in general, but damned in find something that he might send home the text by the note "a botanically in­ to garden-minded folk. People who ex­ teresting but horticulturally rather dull plored for other things in times past plant") . have sent home plants to the home Cultural details are singularly free lands. Why not again? of instructions that are local in charac­ ter but of course are brought together with Britain in mind, The notes on the LILIES OF THE WORLD. H. Drysdale character of the native habitats are in­ Woodcock and William T. Stearn. valuable or should be to the person Charles Scribner's Sons, New York, who can and will interpret them for N. Y., 1950. 431 pages, illustrated. himself, and for his own climate and $8.50. soil. If one would not be suspected of There are several useful appendices flippancy, he could write that after this and an excellent index, there need be 110 other books 011 lilies. All serious workers with lilies will Progress reports. yes, comment and need this work; and all good garden­ ephemera of garden activities, bulletins ers who may grow lilies should have it on the development in the agony sec­ as well. tion (diseases and insects) and so on, but a general book, never again. It is TREE TRAILS AND HO BB IES. Ruth delectable. Cooley Cater. Doubleday & Co" 118 THE ~ATIO N AL HORTICULTURAL MAGAZINE Apr., 1951

Inc., New York, ~ . Y, 1950. 324 Knopf, Publisher, New York, 1950. pages, illustrated. $3 .50. 163 pages, illustrated. $2.75. T his is probably one of the most im­ One might best treat this book by portant books that has come to the quoting one sentence from the P reface: gardening public in many years. There "This entire book is based on the are some mannerisms in the book that proved fact that the simplest way to become more than a nuisance in time, attract birds is to provide them with but one reads on nevertheless; possi­ w hat they want." Noone would dis­ bly the most annoying are the two pute this even if he were not treating words in the title, that become almost of birds! But the book is a good book, a singsong before one comes to the written in a straightforward fashion, end of the book. Trails, in fact, wheth­ the style that presents the facts in a er traversed on foot or on horseback rather take them or leave them fashion, are one thing, trails, the visible marks whid1 is a great reli ef from the 'poeti­ left by something, some one gome be­ cally presented' birdbooks. It primarily fore are another; they may be viewed concerns itself with 'birds found in the at one and the same time, or they may areas east of the Mississippi River ex­ not. Our author knows them well, all clusive of the semitropical species kinds, and uses the words to take her found in Florida and the coastal states.' as 'far afield' as library searching, There is a list of reference works. which really belong here but merit oth­ This reviewer has always had too er terms. As for 'hobbies,' that is now many birds visit his gardens and more an evil word, babbled by sociologists than 'Successfully sow on the best pre­ who have taken up the salvation of the pared sites, seeds of many plants na­ stupid middle-aged and aged. tiv·e and introduced that always grew The important thing about the book better than the plants intended in the is that it is testimony of what one can design. He looks at birds in the small learn to see if one learns to see with garden, therefo re, with a somewhat 11l 0r·e than just sight. It is the testi­ jaundiced eye. He has noted also that mony of enrichment that follows if in such premises, the bi rds wi ll eat sight in its ful ness is allowed to influ­ whatever they can eat of fruit and seed ence the rest of one's living. That the as quickly as possible and then sit author happens to have had the privi­ about and yawp for food, indeed often lege, whether it fell in her lap or it is FOOD! In time one weari es of whether she forged it fo r herself all this. through a thousand difficulties makes The plant li sts are all sound enough no difference, of having a wider chance -for the birds-but some of the in­ at seeing Nature under a wider range clusions are anathema to gardeners, as of conditions than most of us would for example, mulberries, wild black have, should serve only as a spur. The cherry and even hackberry, but the re­ photographs are excellent, their leg­ viewer is not in position to comment ends to the point. And best of all, on all the notes r·elative to the eating there is not one thing described as habits of birds, except to note one par­ 'dramatic.' That alone IS a modern ticular passage that is simply not true achi evement 111 Nature and Garden in Maryland, in regard to Flowering writing. Dogwood. "The small dusters of red H ANDBOOK OF ATTRACTING BIRDS. berries are eaten avidly after saftemng Thomas P. McElroy, Jr. Alfred A. by the first flcast." (Italics mine!) Apr. , 195 1 THE NATIONAL HORTICULTURAL MAGAZINE 119

First frost my eye; the squirrels begin Although much fundamental re­ the pl under before the berries turn red, search remains to be done on many the robins going south, bluejays, genera and species, as the author states, thrushes, thrashers and kin clean up the book should be a valuable sour<:e the trees long before there is any sign of information to both mycologists and of frost, leaving only an occasional tree plant pathologists. that is untou<:hed, then or later. No CHARLOTTE ELLIOTT guess on my part, as to me all dog­ How TO LANDSCAPE YOUR GROUNDS. wood fruits are astringent, but I'm no R. bird! Loyal Johnson. De La Mare Garden Books, New York, N. Y., DISEASES OF CEREALS AND GRASSES 1950. 257 pages, illustrated. $3.50. IN NORTH AMERICA. Roderick One is li kely to hesitate to read a Sprague. The Ronald Press Com­ book that proposed so bold a theme, pany, New York, 1950. 538 pages. but it is a pleasure to report that no illustrated. $7.00. hesitation is needed here. The field is As a plant pathologist in the U. S. well covered and everything is done Department of Agriculture and later in in the best of taste, with a delightful \ Vashington State, the author has been spread of geographic treatments, and an avid collector and student of dis­ no indusion of the materials that are eases of cereals and grasses. The bizarre. If the advanced artist may know ledge which he has gained feel that there is little in the text that through the years is assembled here as would kindle his spirit, it should be a source of information for others and pointed out that the book was not as an aid in the identification of the written for him. It is written for the parasiti c fungi of grasses and the dis­ person who comes to his own personal eases they produce. landscape problem without technical The area covered includes North training but with native wit and intel­ and Central A merica and Hawaii. ligence so that he can quickly lay hold The fungi are li sted under fo ur on the essential matters and create a dasses - Phycomycetes, Ascomycetes, work that will be entirely satisfying. Basidiomycetes and Fungi Imperfecti. It is perfectly true that in time he The imperfect fungi take up almost two may wish to alter some of his first thirds of the book with 247 species and treatments giving them some touch subspecies. Under each dass are keys that will be peculiarly hi s own, but to the genera and genera and species there is nothing that he can find in it, are listed alphabetically. A technical that will when reproduced by him, later desuiption of each parasitic fungus is appear as purely fantastic. There is, given, including original descriptions, therefore, not one shadow of reproach followed by disease symptoms, host in saying that this book is sound. range, world distribution and refer­ ences to literature citations. AN EIGHTEENTH -CENTURY GARLAND. The book is sparingly illustrated Louise B. Fisher. Colonial Williams­ with drawings by the author, from oth­ burg, Williamsburg, Va. 1951. 91 er sources and by a few photographs. pages, illustrated in color and black There is a glossary, an index of fungi and white. and of cereal and grass hosts and a This is a charming record of the li st of literature citations covering 79 Flower and Fruit A rrangements that pages. have been developed by M rs. Fisher in 120 THE NATIONAL HORTICULTURAL MAGAZINE Apr., 1951 the decoration of the restored build­ This system of training fruit trees is. ings at Colonial Williamsburg. It is a essentially European for countries. lovely book, with charming make-up, where there is not the amount of sum­ beautiful typography and excellent col­ mer sun or heat that we have in this. or reproductions. country and will be particularly of val­ As compared to many books that ue here in those cases where the gar­ deal with flower arrangements, this is dener is interested in the production of signal value in that it stresses a type of dwarf trees trained in the special of flower arrangement that is more na­ forms used against walls, or on trellises tive to our culture than many of the in formal gardens. rest. Mr. Richardson Wright in his intriguing foreword touches the point FARMING AND GARDENING IN THE. with a neat sentence that should make BIBLE. Alastair MacKay. The Ro­ various eye-brows rise: "How welcome dale Press, Emmaus, Penna., 1951. these artless arrangements would be 280 pages. $3.00. among the clutter of self-conscious, This is an interesting treatment of macabre combinations of plant materi­ the materials gathered by the writer als so often be-medaled today. Need from many sources organized about the one say more ?" theme mentioned in the title. Whether or not one would care to read it will THE LORETTE SYSTEM OF PRUNING. depend not so much upon the necessi­ Louis Lorette. R odale Press, Em­ ties of his own garden practices as upon maus, Penna., 1950. 239 pages, il ­ hi s €uriosity to know how old and how lustrated. $3.00. far flung many of the practices that he This follows the second edition of feels his own have been in other parts this famous work in the original trans­ of gardening history over the worlc1. lation by W. R. Dykes, revised by F. For some it will have great sentimental J. Chittenden, with a chapter on a mod­ value; for others none. Certainly it is ified system of prunil'lg by A. H. Lees, a most readable book even making due the original photographs and a new allowance for the attempts to correlate drawing by L. R. Brightwell. It is the some of the less obvious current prac­ first editi on from the Rodale Press. tices and revivals with antiquity. The Gardener's Pocketbook

Notes on the Palms base which forms a small crownshaft 3. Verschaffeltin splendida, Wendl. above the trunk. The spadix, which attains a length of about 6 feet, is pro­ Among the most extraordinary of duced on a compressed elongate stalk all palms encountered in collections in from among the foliage, and has only the tropics is the so-called Verschaffelt a few branches. The flowers are small, Palm, Ve-rschaffeltia splendida Wend!., not particularly attractive, and com­ a native of the Seychelles Islands in plex in formation, as is typical of most the Indian Ocean. This majestic spe­ palms of this alliance. The ahundant (:ies, which is allied to Stevensonia J. green globular fruits measure about 1 Dunc. and N ephrospenna Balf. f. of the inch in diameter, and make the fruit­ Tribe Areceae, Subtribe Iguanureae, is ing spadix hang down with their {}ccasionally encountered in choice col­ weight. lections of these fine plants, where it In the Seychelles the split trunks of al ways attracts attention because of its Ve-rschafferltia sple-nd'ida are used as almost simple lustrously deep-green gutters on native buildings, and also foliage and the prominent supporting as framework for walls of houses. The stilt-roots of the ringed trunk. large, almost entire leaves form an ex­ In its native haunts, Ve-rschaffeltia ceptionally fine thatch, of long dura­ (the genus has only the single species, tion. restricted in its distribution to the Sey­ The accompanying fine photograph chelles) reaches a height of as much of Ve-rschaffeltia was taken by Dr. M. as 80 feet, though under cultivation it R. Henderson in the Singapore Botan­ is generally a rather small-growing ic Gardens. A portion of the large palm palm. The trunk, when young, is vir­ collection at that institution 1S visible tually covered with long black spines, in the background. but as it reaches maturity these are ALEX D. HAWKES shed, and the trunk is smooth, except Department of Botany for the prominent bulging rings; the University of California aerial 'stilt-roots, as may be seen in the Berkeley 4, California accompanying photograph, extend well up the trunk, which in some instances ACosta Riw11- Mallow may rot away basally, leaving the palm supported only on its adventitious root­ "Beautiful and ornamental. ... One system, a condition we also encounter of the most interesting and showy trees in such genera as Socmtea, hiartea, of Costa Rica," is Dr. Paul Standley's C MoMastus, etc. description of a mallow named Wel'ck­ The leaves are few in number, hand­ lea ins ignis which has been established somely arching, and reach a length of in Florida and southern California. As slightly more than 8 feet, with a width the 2-inch bristly capsules contain of up to 5 feet; they are deep glossy­ plenty of seeds that germinate readily, green, often almost simple or entire the plant doubtless will be widely for much of their length (though, as in grown in warm regions because of its the illustrated specimen, they some­ "tropical" appearance. times split up into quite regular seg­ The bright green kidney-shaped, pal­ ments) , and have a sheathing spiny mately-veined leaves are from 8 to 16 [121 ] 122 THE NATIONAL HORTICULTURAL MAGAZINE Apr., 1951

M. R. H elldersoll (See page 121> Versclwffeltia splpl1dida Apr., 195 1 THE 1 ATIONAL HORTI CULTURAL MAGAZINE 123

(See page 121) Wercklea 1- l1s1gms 124 THE NATIONAL HORTICULTURAL MAGAZINE Apr., 1951

Robert L. Taylor Deu.tzia S chneide1'iana Ap r., 195 1 THE NATIONAL HORTICULTURAL MAGAZINE 125

Deli/ziG, taiwGnel1sis 126 THE NATIONAL HORTICULTURAL MAGAZINE Apr., 195 1 inches across, spreading away from d'Horticulture de Geneve, Bulletin the branches on thick green to reddish Mensuel, J anvier, 1912. stalks. Because the tree is evergreen Victor Lemoine by D. Bois (Obituary and its fo liage so heavy, it makes a notice), Revue Horticole, 84 ve an­ conspicuous garden plant all year. It nee, tome XII 1912. compels even more attention from Feb­ Horticulture Dec. 23, 1911 , Boston, ruary to April ( in Florida) when it Mass. , obituary notice. produces its huge, solitary, hi biscus­ Moller, Deutsche Gartenzeitung, 1911, like fl owers, 5 inches across, on stalks obituary notice. to 6 inches long. Standley's "Flora of Bean, Vi. J ., Shrubs and Trees Hardy Costa Rica" calls the color "rose-lilac in the British Isles. with a ye llow base," but by the Royal Rehder, Dr. Alfred, Manual of Culti­ Hor ticu ltural Society chart, the blooms vated Trees and Shrubs. produced in Florida have a throat that Wyman. Donald, Shrubs and Vines for is Persian Rose 628, while the petal Ameri.can Gardens. li ps are Magnolia P urple 030/3. \Vilson, Ernest H., More Aristocrats /if, ('rcklea i11Sigwis makes a tree of of the Garden. 20 to 35 feet, and its pale thin-barked Vilm orin, Philip de, Fruticetum of trunk may be 12 inches in diameter. Maurice de and Hortus Vilmorin- No records are available on its frost an us. hardiness. Although this is the only species so far establi shed in the United States. Standley reports another sp~­ Recent Nates cies in Costa Rica. W. lutea, a simi lar but smaller tree ( 10 to 20 feet), with There have been of late several let­ the co roll a yell ow, and he adds: "Even ters in which the member has said that showier than /if!. illsigl'lis because of he or she would like to start work on the bright color of the fl owers, which some plant breeding problem. This suggest pumpkin blossoms. In form it seems to us in the office is the most the flowers much resembl·e those of the thrilling thing any gardeller can do to hollyhock." add to hi s already fu ll life. The ex­ EDWIN A. MENNINGER amples in the last Penstemon issue, tell Stuart. F la. of work done in three cases, which has brought into other gardens a great re­ ward. The limits of work within the genus Penste11Wi'/. have not yet been Deutzias approached. So it is with any number (Collf·inned froIN page 100) of American plants. BIBLIOGRAPHY Dr. J ohn Fogg speaking at the Gardeners Chronicl e of England from luncheon of T he Garden Club of Amer­ 1853-1911. ica, held this March in New York, Revue Horticole from 1853-1 913. took as hi s topic, Ameri,can Plants for Les F leurs de Jardins, A. Guillaumin, the Garden. His li st was impressive. 1929. But he did not speak of plant selection, \Vho's VI/ho in Horticulture in F rance nor of the value of inbreeding to get by John C. \ Vister, Garden Club of finer and filler forms. That is for the America Bulletin, July 1924. gardener to follow and he will be re­ Victor Lemoin e by ]. "'''olf, Societe warded. The American Horticultural Society

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