The different species and varieties of the African Heaths are now become so numerous, that there is scarcely any period of the year in which some of them may not be found to delight the eye with their blossoms: the _persoluta_ here figured is one of those which flower early in the spring; through the months of March, April and May, its branches are loaded with a profusion of bright purple flowers, which, joined to the lively verdure of its foliage, places it among the most desirable of the tribe. If suffered to grow, it will form a shrub of considerable height: there is a variety of it, called _alba_, whose flowers are nearly white, yet not wholly divested of a red tinge; to this variety the term blush-coloured, which Mr. AITON has given to the species, seems most applicable. This heath was introduced, from the Cape, by Mr. MASSON, in 1774. _Ait. Kew._ It is increased without much difficulty from cuttings, and is more easily preserved than many of the others. [343] ANTHOLYZA CUNONIA. SCARLET-FLOWERED ANTHOLYZA. _Class and Order._ TRIANDRIA MONOGYNIA. _Generic Character._ _Cor._ tubulosa irregularis recurvata. _Caps._ infera. _Specific Character and Synonyms._ ANTHOLYZA _Cunonia_ corollis rectis, labii quinquepartiti lobis duobus externis latioribus adscendentibus. _Linn. Sp. Pl. ed. 3 p. 54. Ait. Kew. v. 1 p. 66._ ANTHOLYZA _Cunonia_ corollis subpapilionaceis: labii lobis duobus externis latioribus adscendentibus. _Linn. Syst. Veg. ed. 14. Murr. p. 87._ ANTHOLYZA _Cunonia_ foliis ensiformibus glabris striatis, spica oblonga disticha. _Thunb. Prod. Pl. Cap. p. 7._ CUNONIA floribus sessilibus spathis maximis. _Butt. cun. 211. t. 1._ CUNONIA _Antholyza_. _Mill. Dict._ [Illustration: _N^o. 343_] Amidst that variety of tender bulbous plants which the Cape affords, there are none whose flowers can boast a richer scarlet, than the _Antholyza_ here figured; in their form also, there is a great singularity, and in their mode of growth much elegance; to us indeed it is matter of surprise that this plant should not be more generally cultivated, especially as its culture is attended with so little trouble: Mr. MILLER, who grew it in 1756, has minutely described it in his Dictionary; he informs us, that it is easily propagated by offsets, or raised from seeds; the latter, as the plant flowers in April and May, ripen about the middle of June, and should be sown about the middle of August; the plant with the pot in which it has grown, after it has ripened its seeds, should be set by the shed or some dry place, and in the autumn the largest roots should be selected, and three of them planted in a pot of a moderate size, keeping them in an open frame till the approach of winter, when they are to be removed into the house with other greenhouse plants. This species is found wild in Persia as well as at the Cape. [344] ASPALATHUS PENDUNCULATA. SMALL-LEAVED ASPALATHUS. _Class and Order._