This beautiful divided leaved Protea has been named, as above, by
Thunberg, in his Dissertatio de Protea, n. 7, and in his Prodromus
plantarum capensium 25. It is rather a delicate plant, and subject to
lose the lower leaves from the stem, which takes something from the
beauty of its habit. The young leaves, when they first appear, have a
downy character, which disappears as they grow firm. The stem has
likewise, in its young state, a tendency to downiness, which is not
discovered on the old wood; and is, where the leaves are extant, quite
covered by them. It grows to the height of three feet, is propagated by
cuttings, and flowers in the month of July. Our figure was taken from a
plant in the Hibbertian Collection, which was raised from Cape seeds in
1800, sent from thence by Mr. Niven.
[Illustration]
PLATE CCCXXXVIII.
GERANIUM CORONOPIFOLIUM.
_Buck’s-horn-leaved Geranium._
CLASS XVI. ORDER IV.
_MONADELPHIA DECANDRIA._ Threads united. Ten Chives.
ESSENTIAL GENERIC CHARACTER.
MONOGYNA. Stigmata quinque. Fructus rostratus, penta-coccus.
ONE POINTAL. Five summits. Fruit furnished with long awns, five dry
berries.
See GERANIUM GRANDIFLORUM, Pl. XII. Vol. I.
SPECIFIC CHARACTER.
Geranium foliis subcuneatis, apice inciso-dentatis, canescentibus,
petiolis longissimis; pedunculis subtrifloris; corollis pallidè
violaceis; caulê suffruticoso; staminibus quinque fertilibus.
Geranium with nearly wedge-shaped leaves, deeply toothed at the end,
whitish and very long foot-stalks; flower stems mostly three-flowered;
blossoms pale purple; stem rather woody; five fertile chives.
REFERENCE TO THE PLATE.
1. A Flower and a Bud from a seedling variety of this plant, by an
intermixture of the farina of Geranium tricolor.
2. The Cup, which is solid and five-leaved.
3. The Chives and Pointal, magnified.
4. The same cut open, magnified.
5. The Seed-bud, Shaft and Summits, magnified.
The Geranium coronopifolium is one of those species we may fairly
denominate biennial; for such is certainly the G. tricolor, G.
Oenothera, G. tomentosum, &c. and as such must be propagated every year
to have a succession of them. It is readily increased by putting the
cuttings into small pots, and plunging them in the heat of a hot-bed or
hot-house, early in the month of March; which plants will flower in
September. It was first introduced to the Kew Gardens by Mr. Masson in
1792. The plant very delicate, and should be kept in a dry part of the
green-house, in a mixture of sandy peat and rich earth. Our figure is
from a plant in the Hibbertian Collection; where, likewise, we found the
variety of which a flower is given on the plate. Mr. Allen informs us,
he procured the Var. by approximating a plant of this species to the G.
tricolor; first impregnating the summits of the flower of G.
coronopifolium, with the pollen from the tips of the G. tricolor, a
method much practised of late for the production of varieties, in many
genera.
[Illustration]
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