Part 33

STYRAX AMERICANA and S. PULVERULENTA are not commonly cultivated, being far less showy than the Japanese species. They bear white flowers.

S. OFFICINALIS.--Storax. Levant, 1597. This is a small deciduous shrub, with ovate leaves, and short racemes of pretty pure white flowers. A not very hardy species, and only second-rate as an ornamental flowering shrub.

S. SERRULATA VIRGATA (syn S. japonica).--Japanese Storax. Japan. A neat-habited and dense-growing shrub, with pretty white flowers that are neatly set off by the showy yellow stamens. It is an extremely pretty shrub, with long, slender, much-branched shoots, furnished with ovate leaves, and deliciously-scented, snow-white bell-shaped flowers, produced for nearly the full length of the shoots. So far, this shrub of recent introduction has proved quite hardy. S. serrulata variegata is a well-marked and constant form.

SYMPHORICARPUS.

SYMPHORICARPUS OCCIDENTALIS.--Wolf Berry. North America. This species has larger and more freely-produced flowers, and smaller fruit than the commonly-cultivated plant.

S. RACEMOSUS (syn Symphoria racemosus).--Snowberry. North America, 1817. One of the commonest shrubs in English gardens, with small, oval, entire leaves, and neat little racemes of pretty pink flowers, succeeded by the familiar snow-white berries, and for which the shrub is so remarkable.

S. VULGARIS.--Coral Berry, Common St. Peter's Wort. North America, 1730. This is readily distinguished by its showy and freely-produced coral berries. There is a very neat and much sought after variety, having conspicuous green and yellow leaves, and named S. vulgaris foliis variegatis.

The Snowberries are of no great value as ornamental shrubs, but owing to their succeeding well in the very poorest and stoniest of soils, and beneath the shade and drip of trees, it is to be recommended that they are not lost sight of. They grow and spread freely, and are therefore useful where unchecked and rampant shrub growth is desirable.

SYMPLOCOS.

SYMPLOCOS JAPONICA (syn S. lucida).--A small growing and not very desirable species from Japan (1850).

S. TINCTORIA.--Sweet-leaf, or Horse Sugar. South United States, 1780. This is a small-growing shrub, with clusters of fragrant yellow flowers, but it is not very hardy unless planted against a sheltered and sunny wall.

SYRINGA.

SYRINGA CHINENSIS (syns. S. dubia and S. rothomagensis).--Rouen, or Chinese Lilac. A plant of small growth, with narrow leaves, and reddish-violet flowers. It is said to have been raised by M. Varin, of the Botanic Garden, Rouen, as a hybrid between S. vulgaris and S. persica, 1795.

S. EMODI.--Himalayas, 1840. This is a desirable species, that forms a stout bush or small tree, with oblong, reticulately-veined leaves, and erect, dense panicles of white flowers, that are sometimes lilac tinged. The flowers are strongly scented, and borne in great profusion late in the season. There is a variegated form, S. Emodi variegata, and another named S. Emodi villosa, both good varieties.

S. JAPONICA (syns S. amurensis and Ligustrina amurensis).--Japan. This is of recent introduction, and is a decided acquisition, producing in summer large and dense clusters of creamy-white flowers. It is a very desirable species, and though coming from Japan seems to be perfectly hardy.

S. JOSIKAEA, Josika's Lilac, is of Hungarian origin (1835), and is so totally different from the others as to be well worthy of special attention. It rarely exceeds 6 feet in height, with dark-green, wrinkled leaves, and erect spikes of pale mauve flowers.

S. PERSICA (Persian Lilac).--Persia, 1640. This is a distinct small-growing species, with slender, straight branches, and lilac or white flowers produced in small clusters. The form bearing white flowers is named S. persica alba; and there is one with neatly divided foliage called S. persica laciniata.

S. VULGARIS.--Common Lilac, or Pipe Tree. Persia and Hungary, 1597. This is one of the commonest and most highly praised of English garden shrubs, and one that has given rise, either by natural variation or by crossing with other species, to a great number of superior forms. The following include the best and most ornamental of the numerous varieties:--alba, pure white flowers; alba-grandiflora, very large clusters of white flowers; alba-magna, and alba virginalis, both good white-flowering forms; Dr. Lindley, large clusters of reddish-lilac flowers; Charles X., purplish-lilac flowers, but white when forced; Souvenir De Ludwig Spath, with massive clusters of richly coloured flowers; Glorie de Moulins, Marie Legrange, Noisetteana, Duchesse de Nemours, and Vallettiana, all beautiful flowering forms that are well worthy of cultivation, and that are of the simplest growth.

The double-flowered varieties, for which we are much indebted to M. Victor Lemoine, of Nancy, are fast gaining favour with cultivators in this country, and rightly, too, for they include several very handsome, full flowered forms. The following are best known:--

S. vulgaris Alphonse Lavallee, with full double red flowers, changing to mauve. " Emile Lemoine, mauve-pink, suffused with white; very handsome. " La Tour d'Auvergne, mauve shaded with rose. A beautiful and very dark coloured form. " Lemoinei, nearly resembling our common species, but with full double flowers. " Leon Simon, light pink, mauve shaded. " Madame Lemoine, the finest form, bearing very large pure white double flowers. " Michael Buchner, rosy lilac. " Virginité, whitish pink, nearly white when fully expanded.

President Grevy is one of the same beautiful group. The blooms are large, double, and produced in very massive clusters, and of a light bluish-lilac tint, when forced almost white. The first of this group, S. vulgaris Lemoinei, was sent out about 1884, and was then awarded a certificate by the R.H.S. The range in colouring of these Lilacs is rather confined, so that the various forms resemble one another in no small degree, particularly when the flowers are opened under glass. From the large size of the flower bunches, and the individual flowers being double, they are all of great beauty, and being quite hardy still further enhances their value for outdoor gardening purposes.

The Lilacs grow freely in any soil of fair quality, but a free, rich, and not too dry loam, would seem to suit the majority of these plants best.

TAMARIX.

TAMARIX GALLICA.--Common Tamarisk. India to Europe. This shrub often in favoured maritime places reaches to a height of fully 10 feet, with long and slender branches, and spikes of pretty, rosy-pink flowers produced at the end of summer. For sea-side planting, it is an invaluable shrub, and on account of its feathery appearance and wealth of showy flowers is well worthy of being included in our list of ornamental and useful shrubs.

T. PARVIFLORA (syns T. africana and T. tetrandra), South-eastern Europe and Levant, is a nearly allied species, with white, pinky-tinged flowers.

TECOMA.

TECOMA GRANDIFLORA (syn Bignonia grandiflora), from China and Japan (1800), is not so hardy as T. radicans, although in certain maritime districts it succeeds fairly well. The flowers are very attractive, being of a rich orange-scarlet, and produced in drooping clusters. Both foliage and flowers are larger than those of T. radicans. It wants a warm, sunny wall, and light, rich, and well-drained soil, and if only for its lovely flowers, it is well worthy of coddling and good treatment.

T. RADICANS (syn Bignonia radicans).--Trumpet Flower. North America, 1640. An old occupant of our gardens and one of the most beautiful wall plants in cultivation. It is a tall climber, of sometimes fully 20 feet in height, with graceful pinnate leaves, and handsome trumpet-shaped scarlet-red flowers, that are at their best about mid-summer, though the period of flowering extends over a considerable length of time. The stems are long, twisted, and wiry, and like those of the Ivy send out roots at the joints and so fasten the plant in position. Few climbing plants are more attractive than the Trumpet Flower, and being hardy in most parts of the country, and free of growth, is to be recommended for covering walls, and arches, or similar structures. T. radicans major is of more robust growth than the species, with larger foliage and paler flowers. The orange-scarlet flowers are produced in terminal corymbs.