Reared from seeds sent by Mr. Drummond from the Swan
River settlement. We can scarcely doubt its being the D. nobilis
of Lindley and of the 'Plantae Preissiane;' yet our flowering
plant, in May 1851, was considered by Dr. Meisner (author of
the Proteaceæ of the last-mentioned work) as a new species, which he proposed to call Dryandra runcinata. It is a really handsome shrub.
Our plants have attained a height of about four feet
(they reach seven feet, according to Preiss), and are erect, much
branched; the branches woolly, copously clothed with leaves
a span or more long, spreading, recurved, hard, coriaceous, pe-
tiolate, pinnatifid almost to the midrib; the lobes ovate, acute, runcinato-recurved and very decurrent, tipped with a mucro; the leaves are dark green above, and glabrous, below veiny and white with dense compact tomentum. Capitula large, yellow, on short lateral branches. Outer leaves of the involucre folia- ceous, lobed or serrated. Sepals glabrous at the base, woolly above, bearded at the apex. Style filiform, much longer than the sepals. Stigma elongated, nearly cylindrical. W. J. H.
--
Cult. A woody greenhouse plant, belonging to a tribe of
plants that were at one time in high favour with cultivators. Of
late years, however, they have fallen in estimation, owing partly to
the belief that they are short-lived, and partly to the introduction
of more showy plants. That they are short-lived, if not pro-
perly treated, is true; but in the Royal Gardens may now be
seen plants fifty years old, and many above half that age. At
Tab. 4528 we have described the method of cultivating Proteaceæ
practised by us for many years past. The present plant is
grown in light loam, mixed with a small portion of sharp sand. On shifting it into a larger pot or tub, we invariably keep the ball of earth an inch or more (according to the size of the plant) above the surface of the new soil: this is of importance for prolonging the life of the plant, as it prevents any excess of moisture lodging around the base of the stem. In summer care must be taken not to allow the direct rays of the sun to strike against the sides of the pot; for the heat transmitted to the inside destroys the tender spongioles of the roots, and the plant flags and dies. J. S.