Rosaceae

“ Liber VII. Lysimachia, Epilobium, Oenothera, Lythrum, some more Labiatae, Scrophulariaceae, and Caryophyllaceae; Boraginaceae; some Compositae; Alisma; Scabiosa; Hypericum; Crassulaceae; Aloe; Euphorbia.
Liber VIII. Various climbing plants; Convolvulus, Smilax, Humulus, Vitis; Clematis, Lonicera, Hedera; and Cucurbitaceae: also Apocynaceae, Asclepiadaceae, some Liliaceae, Malvaceae, Rosaceae, Leguminosae, with other genera scattered among them, as Aristolochia, Dentaria, Paeonia, Geranium. ”

“ The double variety of this plant is less common in our gardens, and the single white variety is rare. These plants like a loamy soil, and eastern exposure—and should be removed when they are in blossom. The roots do not bear to be often separated; and if divided into small pieces are frequently lost: but if left undisturbed in a congenial situation, they will attain great luxuriance. Miller says the single varieties are easily propagated by seed; but our more modern gardeners do not coincide in this opinion. ”

“ Rose, with roundish seed-buds; flowers very small, flesh-coloured, and of a deep red in the centre; leaflets egg-shaped, sharp-pointed, and small, hairy beneath, with finely sawed glandular margins. It is a dwarf shrub; stem and petioles prickly; the spines of the branches are scattered and straight.
This elegant little plant proves, as we imagined it would, distinct from the minor variety, whose flower and leaves we find subject to vary both in size and colour, but in the present true original species they are not. ”

“ The Rose, while it is common everywhere, and has been in cultivation for centuries, is not understood by the rank and file of those [Pg 129] who attempt to grow it, therefore it is not given the treatment it deserves, and which it must have, in order to achieve success in its culture. When we come to know its requirements, and give it proper care, we can grow fine Roses, but not till then. Those who form an opinion of the possibilities of the plant from the specimens which they see growing in the average garden have yet to find out what a really fine Rose is. ”

“ It is a hardy plant, of the easiest culture, not requiring any particular treatment, though it grows best in a rich brown loam—if allowed to sow its seed, a number of young plants will soon appear, which will flower the next year; this mode, however, of propagating it, is by no means certain, and therefore, in order to obtain it true, it is better to divide the roots, which may be done in spring; numerous and very beautiful varieties are constantly raised from seed. Amongst the most desirable distinct species are ”

“ V. Genus; VI. Species.
To illustrate: The white pine belongs to the highest great division (sub-kingdom) of the plant kingdom. The plants of this division all produce seeds, and hence are called “spermaphytes” (“seed plants”) . They may be divided into two groups (classes) , distinguished by certain peculiarities in the flowers and seeds. These are named respectively “gymnosperms” and “angiosperms,” and to the first our plant belongs. The gymnosperms may be further divided into several subordinate groups (orders) , one of which, the conifers, or cone-bearing evergreens, includes our plant. ”

“ The seed of the Harrison Rose, or of any of the yellow roses, may, if perseveringly saved from generation to generation, produce a yellow climbing rose. In fact, we are inclined to think that among all the reputed hybrids, a much less number than is supposed owe their origin to a crossed fecundation. It is a fact generally admitted by botanists, that all varieties of plants will generally produce from their seed plants very dissimilar, preserving, perhaps, some peculiarities of their parents, but differing in many essential particulars. ”

“ These should be planted together in a rich soil, and as far as possible from any other roses. If there are among them any two varieties whose peculiarities it is desired to unite in a single plant, place these next to each other, and there may possibly be such an admixture of the pollen as will produce the desired result.
Care should be taken not to affect the proper maturity of the seed by taking off the petals, but allow them to fall by their own decay. The seed should be perfectly mature before it is gathered, which will be immediately after the first hard frost. ”

“ In these the axis remains short, nearly as it is in the bud; the leaves therefore remain close together in sets or circles; the outer ones, those of the calyx, generally partake more or less of the character of foliage; the next set are more delicate, and form the corolla, while the rest, the stamens and pistils, appear under forms very different from those of ordinary leaves, and are concerned in the production of seed. This view gives to Botany an interest which one who merely notices the shape and counts the parts of blossoms, without understanding their plan, has no conception of. ”

“ An entirely natural order of genuine Rosaceous flowers, except possibly Calycanthus. Here we find Rosa, Engl. Bot. t., 990—2; Rubus, t., 827, 716; Fragaria, t.; Potentilla, t., 89, 862; Tormentilla, t., 864; Geum, t.; Dryas, t.; and Comarum, t.: all elegant plants, agreeing in the astringent qualities of their roots, bark and foliage, and in their generally eatable, always innocent, fruit. The vegetable kingdom does not afford a more satisfactory example of a natural order, composed of natural genera, than this; and Linnæus has well illustrated it in the Flora Lapponica. ”

“ Roses, and when open, it is merely a variety of that rose; but when in bud, it is more properly a Moss, although its calyx is not covered with a fine moss, but has more of a crested appearance. In a rich soil this fringe-like crest most beautifully clasps and surmounts the bud, and gives the rich clusters a truly elegant appearance. Its form is globular, and its color rose. It is one of the few that do not grow well on their own roots, but require to be budded on some strong-growing stock. ”

“ If the soil is rich—and it can hardly be too rich, for these Roses, like those of the kinds treated of in the foregoing chapter, require strong food and a great deal of it in order to do themselves justice—this bud will soon develop into a vigorous branch which, like the original one, will bear a cluster of flowers. In order to keep a succession of bloom it is absolutely necessary to keep the plant producing new branches, as flowers are only borne on new growth. ”

“ The varieties of a plant are, by Botanists, designated by names intended to convey an idea of certain characteristics,—the form and consistency of the leaves, the arrangement, number, size, and color of the flowers, seed-vessels, etc. The varieties of roses, however, have so few distinct characteristics, that florists find it difficult to give any name expressive of the very slight shades of difference in the color or form of the flower. ”

“ In direct proportion, then, to the degree in which one region of the axis or certain branches of a plant are devoted to the formation of flower-buds to the exclusion of leaf-buds, is the frequency with which those flowers become affected with floral prolification.
Flowers produced upon indefinite inflorescences are liable to be affected with either form of prolification more frequently than those borne upon definite inflorescences. Prolification in both varieties is also more frequently met with in branched inflorescences than in those in which the flowers are sessile ”

“ The latter, when duly fertilized by being brought into contact with the "pollen" of the stamens, become "seeds," and are capable of growing up, when planted, into new plants. Now, the botanist will inform us that it is a matter of common experience to find some individual plants of a species with well-developed petals or blossoms, and other individuals of the same species with petals in a rudimentary condition, thus proving that the production of imperfect parts in flowers occurs as an ordinary event under our own eyes, and under the common conditions of plant-life. ”

“ Inflorescence.—Flowers in June along the base of the season's shoots; sterile and fertile flowers usually on separate trees,—the sterile in loose, few-flowered clusters, the fertile mostly solitary; peduncles and pedicels slender, bracted midway; calyx persistent, with 4 pointed, ciliate teeth; corolla white, monopetalous, with 4 roundish, oblong divisions; stamens 4, alternating with and shorter than the lobes of the corolla in the fertile flowers, but longer in the sterile; ovary green, nearly cylindrical, surmounted by the sessile, 4-lobed stigma. ”

“ At present it is a very scarce Rose, and requires a sheltered situation. The soil in which most Roses thrive best is a light, sandy soil. Some grow very luxuriant in a stony or gravelly situation. This succeeds better with a considerable portion of rich bog earth.{6}
{7}
ROSA muscosa, variegata.
Striped Moss Rose. CHARACTER SPECIFICUS.
Rosa, germinibus ovatis; calycibus, pedunculis, et petiolis glanduloso-viscosis; foliolis ovatis, subtus villosis, marginibus glandulosis; spinis ramorum sparsis, rectis.
SPECIFIC CHARACTER.
Rose, with egg-shaped seed-buds ”

“ He begins by distinguishing Herbs, Shrubs, and Trees. Proceeding to the detailed classification of Herbs, he divides them into Imperfect "which either do want or seem to want some of the more essential parts of Plants, viz. either Root, Stalk, or Seed," the Cryptogamia of Linnaeus; and Perfect "having all the essential parts belonging to a Plant." The Perfect Herbs are arranged in three main groups according to (1) their leaves, (2) their flowers, (3) their seed-vessel, each group being subdivided in various ways. ”

“ We have seen a plant of La Reine produce a perfect flower in the green-house, and when removed to an inferior soil, produce flowers almost single. It may therefore be safely laid down as a rule, that it is impossible to make the soil too rich for the Rose, and that in proportion to the fertilizing matter contained therein, provided it is properly decomposed, will be the approximation of the plant and the flower to perfection. ”

“ Median floral prolification.—This is of more frequent occurrence than the preceding. The prolonged axis is more frequently terminated by a flower-bud than by a leaf-bud, though it must be remarked, that the lengthened and protruded stem frequently bears leaves upon its sides, even if it terminate in a flower, and thus the new growth partakes of a mixed leafy and floral nature. Instances of this kind have long been familiar to observers, and have always excited attention from the singularity of their appearance. ”

“ Many varieties of flowers may be recognized by the color of their seeds, as in the poppies, stocks and others. Other white-flowered varieties may be distinguished when germinating, their young axes being of a pure instead of a purplish green. It is a test ordinarily used by gardeners, to purify their flower beds long before the blooming time, when thinning or weeding them. Even in wild plants, as in Erodium, Calluna, Brunella and others, a botanist may recognize the rare white-flowered [147] variety by the pure green color of the leaves, at times when it is not in flower. ”

“ Plants must be collected both in flower and in fruit, with the underground parts as perfect as may be. Seedlings and rosettes should be included whenever present. In pressing, one or two leaves should be arranged with the lower side uppermost to admit of the ready comparison of both surfaces. Opened flowers are valuable for flower biology, while seeds and fruits are desirable for showing migration contrivances. The ferns, mosses, and lichens of the formation should be fully represented, together with the more important fungi and algae. ”

“ In garden flowers, also, we see most striking results of continuous selection. By taking advantage of the tendency of stamens and carpels to change occasionally into petals, and of petals to increase in number, “double flowers” have been effected. When “doubling” is complete—that is, when the conversion into petals is thorough—no seed can of course be produced, and the plants must be propagated by cuttings. Different other slight natural variations, exaggerated by selection and cultivation, have been the source of innumerable “varieties” in our gardens. ”

“ The flower-stem is more than 2 ft. high, and very much branched; the branches commencing at from 4 ins. to 8 ins. above the ground, and forming a large and exceedingly handsome panicle of flowers of a light-blue colour, tinged with the greyish hue of the numerous membranous bracts and thin dry calyces. A well-drained, sandy soil, in an open sunny position, is the best for this plant, which, however, grows in any ordinary garden-soil, and is admirably adapted for naturalisation or grouping with the acanthuses, tritomas, etc., the effect of the inflorescence being very remarkable. ”

“ This inflorescence is made up as follows:—The most external floral-leaves are situated in pairs, and are the persistent stipules of a leaf, the blade of which has become suppressed, or in any case is rudimentary. Such a pair of stipules supports 4 (2–6) flowers in a double uniparous cyme, whose central axis does not develope into a flower. The bracts of these flowers (bracteoles of the partial inflorescence) become, at maturity, very large, spathe-like, and, together with the stipules, produce a cone-like appearance. ”

“ F. Pétales de Roses rouges, Roses de Provins; G. Essigrosenblätter.
Botanical Origin—Rosa gallica L., a low-growing bush, with a creeping rhizome throwing up numerous stems. The wild form with single flowers occurs here and there in the warmer parts of Europe, [986] including Central and Southern Russia, and Greece; also in Asia Minor, Armenia, Kurdistan, and the Caucasus. But the plant passes into so many varieties, and has from a remote period been so widely cultivated, that its distribution cannot be ascertained with any exactness. As a garden plant it exists under a multitude of forms. ”