Lapageria
Lapageria rosea.
PLANTS of recent introduction, more especially those from the great Western continent that we call the New World, do not willingly lend themselves to literary treatment. In respect of the book treatment of natural history subjects, we run in vicious grooves; and if the garrulous "ancients" have nothing to say, we seem to be struck dumb, for the sources of knowledge appear to the mere bookmaker to be in what are called the "classics." Alas, for the case before us! Theophrastus and Ovid knew not the lapageria; and it has not been known to our gardens at the present date for so many as fifty years. The flowers had been described by Ruiz and Pavon as "Formosissim;" but the lapageria was unseen at Kew until 1847, when an American gentleman, Mr. R. Wheelwright, presented a plant obtained from Concepcion, Chili, and very shortly thereafter it was talked about, as it deserved to be, as one of the wonders of botanical discovery. Messrs. Veitch, about the same time, secured it through their successful collector, the late Mr. Thomas Lobb; and, as a matter of course, it was cultivated by them for commercial purposes. At this point we wish to mention an incident in the history of the lapageria of interest much greater, even if less attractive, than any possible association of the unknown thing with human loves or inhuman follies in Greek or Roman poetry might be. The plant was figured in the Botanical Magazine in 1849 (t. 4,447), and reference thereto will enable any one who knows the flower to say that the figure is admirably lifelike. But read the story that accompanies it, and you will learn that the artist, Mr. Walter Fitch, had no living flowers at command, for none had then been seen in this country. The story declares that "our flowers are taken from dried specimens, aided by coloured figures made in the native locality." Thus we leave the overworn "classic" groove; we are not to consult the ancients about a flower that for them did not exist, but we have forced upon our attention the fact that a botanical draughtsman may, by means of dried specimens and secondary helps, produce a portrait that shall have, for both pictorial and scientific purposes, the value of a drawing from the life. To this remark it should be added that very much of botanical draughtsmanship in recent years has been founded on dried specimens and descriptions, and, generally speaking, technical accuracy has been secured thereby.
The lapageria belongs to the Smilax family, and therefore, by a little adroit management, it may be dragged into the classical connection; but we shall resist the temptation, and say that in the country it adorns its roots are used for the same purposes as sarsaparilla, while the ripe pulpy fruit is eaten, and is much prized for its agreeable flavour. It was first described, as noted above, by Ruiz and Pavon, in "Flora Peruviana," and was by Dr. Lindley included in a new order called Philesieae; but Dr. Hooker, in his "Flora Antarctica," placed it in the Smilax alliance, and there it remains most properly. The genus is named in honour of Josephine Lapagerie, wife of Napoleon Bonaparte, who, in her gardens of Malmaison, rendered some special services to botany.
Lapageria rosea, and its white variety alba, have given much trouble to cultivators; but being now well understood, they occasion trouble no longer. They are so nearly hardy, that the cool plant-house is the best place for them, generally speaking, while it is probable that in some favoured spots in Devon and Cornwall they may prove to be sufficiently hardy to thrive on open walls and trellises through a series of average seasons, and perhaps survive the occasional severe winters that put all such plants of doubtful hardiness to the extreme and final test. The soil for the lapageria should be good turfy peat, with a considerable mixture of sharp siliceous grit. It should be free from calcareous matter, and, generally speaking, what is known as silver-sand and brown orchid peat are the safest materials for a compost. We have found that the fine grit sifted out of the sweepings of gravel roads and paths is the best of grit for such a purpose, provided the material is siliceous, and not calcareous--a point on which any one may be easily satisfied. Another requisite is an abundance of root moisture. It is not, indeed, necessary to provide the roots with a running rill of water; but a large bulk of soil must be provided, and the supply of water must be copious and constant all through the growing season. Liberal root room, and correspondingly liberal head room, are conditions of importance in the cultivation of this superb climber. When these are provided, there is little else to do beyond training the plant to the wire or rafter near the glass, and shortening the growth only when it becomes too luxuriant for the situation. When in any way cramped or starved, the lapageria is more plague than profit. Better always a thriving tuft of native chickweed than a poor example of any grand exotic!