The Botanical Magazine, Vol. 6 Or, Flower-Garden Displayed   By: William Curtis (1746-1799)

BOTANICAL MAGAZINE;

OR,

Flower Garden Displayed:

IN WHICH

The most ornamental FOREIGN PLANTS, cultivated in the Open Ground, the Green House, and the Stove, are accurately represented in their natural Colours,

TO WHICH ARE ADDED,

Their Names, Class, Order, Generic and Specific Characters, according to the celebrated LINNÆUS; their Places of Growth, and Times of Flowering:

TOGETHER WITH

THE MOST APPROVED METHODS OF CULTURE.

A WORK

Intended for the Use of such LADIES, GENTLEMEN, AND GARDENERS, as with which to become scientifically acquainted with the Plants they cultivate.

By WILLIAM CURTIS,

Author of the FLORA LONDINENSIS.

VOL. VI.

"nor thou disdain To check the lawless riot of the trees, To plant the grove, or turn the barren mould Oh happy he, whom, when his years decline, (His fortune and his fame by worthy means Attain'd, and equal to his mod'rate mind; His life approv'd by all the wise and good, Even envy'd by the vain) the peaceful groves Of Epicurus, from this stormy world Hereine in rest; of all ungrateful cares Absolv'd, and sacred from the selfish crowd. Happiest of men I if the same soil invites A chosen few, companions of his youth, Once fellow rakes perhaps now rural friends; With whom in easy commerce to pursue Nature's free charms, and vie for Sylvan fame A fair ambition; void of strife, or guile, Or jealousy, or pain to be outdone. Who plans th'enchanted garden, who directs The visto best, and best conducts the stream; Whose groves the fastest thicken, and ascend; Whom first the welcome spring salutes; who shews The earliest bloom, the sweetest proudest charms Of Flora; who best gives Pomona's juice To match the sprightly genius of Champain."

ARMSTRONG.

LONDON:

PRINTED BY STEPHEN COUCHMAN, For W. CURTIS, N^o 3, St. George's Crescent , Black Friars Road; And Sold by the principal Booksellers in Great Britain and Ireland. M DCC XCIII.

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COLUTEA FRUTESCENS. SCARLET BLADDER SENNA.

Class and Order.

DIADELPHIA DECANDRIA.

Generic Character.

Cal. 5 fidus. Legumen inflatum, basi superiore dehiscens.

Specific Character and Synonyms.

COLUTEA frutescens fruticosa, foliolis ovato oblongis. Linn. Syst. Vegetab. ed. 14. Murr, p. 668. Ait. Hort. Kew. V. 3. p. 56. Mill. Icon. 99.

COLUTEA æthiopica, flore purpureo. Breyn. Cent. 70. t. 29.

Of the several species of Colutea cultivated in our garden the one here figured, is distinguished by the brilliancy of its' flowers, the largeness of its pods, and the downy appearance of the under side of its leaves.

It appears from the Hortus Kewensis to have been cultivated by Mr. JAMES SUTHERLAND as long since as the year 1683 it was not however generally introduced to our gardens till the time of MILLER, who figured it in his Icones , it was then understood to be an Æthiopian plant; Mr. AITON since describes it as a native of the Cape also; of course, we find it more tender than most of its kindred, and hence it is usually regarded as a greenhouse plant; yet, as it is not destroyed by a small degree of frost, it will frequently, like the myrtle survive a mild winter in the open border, especially if trained to a wall: it is rarely of more than two or three years duration.

It is readily raised from seeds sown in the open ground, plants from which flower the August following, and, in favourable seasons, ripen their seeds; in order, however, that they may ripen them with more certainty, MILLER, recommends the sowing them early on a gentle hot bed.

A dry soil suits this species best.

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