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Browallia (Named in honour of John)

(named in honour of John Browall, Bishop of Abo, who defended the sexual system of Linnaeus against Siegesbeck, in a book entitled "Examen epicriseos," &c., 1739). ORD. Scrophularineae. A genus of handsome shrubs or herbs. Flowers blue or white, axillary and terminal; corolla salver-shaped, resupinate from the contortion of the peduncle; tube fifteen-nerved, ventricose at top. Leaves alternate, stalked, ovate in outline. They thrive best in a rich, open, sandy soil. To have strong plants in flower by Christmas and after, seeds should be sown in July, in pans or pots of light rich sandy soil, and kept in a close frame, or hand light, where they can be shaded till germination takes place. When large enough to handle, the seedlings may either be pricked out, three in a pot, or potted singly, according to the size of the specimens required. In the former way, they form fine masses for conservatory or greenhouse decoration, or to cut from; and in the latter, they are very suitable for window recesses, &c. After potting, they should be stood in a pit or frame, and syringed every morning and evening, to ward off attacks of insect pests. An abundance of well-diluted liquid manure is required as soon as the flower-buds appear. To keep the plants dwarf and bushy, it will be needful to stop them about three times during the remainder of the summer and autumn, keeping as near the glass as possible; they should be housed by the end of September. These elegant little greenhouse annuals are unrivalled for affording choice, neat sprays for bouquets during the winter and early spring months, or for growing as pot plants, to furnish warm greenhouses or sitting-room windows. Many of the species and varieties are largely employed for summer decoration of the flower garden, with highly satisfactory results; for this purpose, seeds should be sown in gentle heat early in spring, and the plants transferred to the flower borders late in June, or early in July, having been previously encouraged in pots, and well hardened off. B. abbreviata (shortened). fl. light red; pedicels shorter than the calyx; calyx campanulate, with teeth as long as the tube. l. oval, hairy when young, quite glabrous when mature. 1852. (R. G. 94.) B. demissa (low).* fl. of a bright but pale blue colour, sometimes red or purple; peduncles axillary, one-flowered, downy. June l. ovate-oblong, acuminated, oblique at the base. h. 6in. to 1ft Panama, 1735. (B. M. 1136.) B. elata (tall).* fl. deep blue; calyx beset with glandular hairs; peduncles axillary, one or many-flowered. July. l. oval, acuminated. h. 1 1/2ft. Peru, 1768. Of this extensively-grown species there are two varieties, one with white flowers, and the other, grandiflora, with pale blue, both of which are well worth growing. (B. M. 34.) B. grandiflora (large-flowered).* fl., corolla with a greenish-yellow tube, which is clothed with glandular villi, and a white or very pale lilac limb; peduncles one-flowered, axillary, racemose at the tops of the branches. July. l. ovate, acute, attenuated into the petioles at the base. h. 1ft. to 3ft. Peru, 1829. (B. M. 3069.) B. Jamesoni (Jameson's). A synonym of Streptosolen Jamesonii. B. Roezli (Roezl's). fl. large, either of a delicate azure-blue, or white, with a yellow tube. Spring to autumn. l. shining green. An exceedingly pretty species, having flowers double the size of any other, and forming a dense compact bush, 1 1/2ft. to 2ft. in height. Rocky Mountains.