Combretum
(a name given by Pliny to a climbing plant, the name of which is now unknown). ORD. Combretaceoe. Stove evergreen climbing or erect shrubs, rarely herbs. Flowers bracteate, almost sessile, rarely pedicellate; spikes solitary or twin, axillary, and terminal, opposite, or three or four in a whorl, usually disposed in a terminal panicle. Leaves entire, opposite or tern, rarely alternate. Many of the Combretums are of very considerable beauty. The most successful method of cultivation is to plant them out in a border in the stove, train them up an upright pillar, and then either up the rafters or on chains hung up in festoons lengthwise of the house. For soil, the most suitable compost is three parts peat, one loam, and one leaf mould. The only attention they require in the warm days of summer, is to give a proper supply of water at the roots, taking care to bestow a sufficient quantity to thoroughly moisten all the soil. In the early part of the season, before flowering, frequent syringings may be applied. When the flowering season is over, they ought to be considerably pruned in and thinned, and, at the same time, the branches and leaves which are to remain, should be thoroughly washed with a sponge. When this is performed, the branches may be pretty closely tied in, and they will require but very little attention until spring. Propagation may be effected by cuttings of young shoots, or, rather, stiffish side shoots, taken off with a heel, planted in sand, under a bell glass, and placed in heat.
C. Afzelii (Afzelius's). A synonym of C. grandiflorum. C. elegans (elegant).* fl. yellow; petals lanceolate, acute, hairy; spikes simple, on short peduncles. May. l. elliptic, acute, acuminated, puberulous above, and clothed with yellowish tomentum beneath. Brazil. 1820. C. farinosum (mealy). fl. orange-coloured, sub-secund; petals scale-formed; spikes usually twin, many-flowered. April to July. l. elliptic-oblong, obtuse, rather coriaceous, rounded at the base, mealy beneath. Mexico, 1825. C. grandiflorum (large-flowered).* fl. scarlet, large, secund: petals obovate, obtuse; spikes short, axillary, and terminal. May to July. l. oblong. Plant hairy. Sierra Leone, 1824. SYN. C. Afzelii. (B. M. 2944.) C. laxum (loose).* fl. red or yellow, large, secund; petals small, elliptic, glabrous; stamens scarlet, nearly 1in. long; spikes axillary and terminal. May. l. ovate-lanceolate. Branches sub-quadrangular. Trinidad, 1818. C. micropetalum (small-petalled). fl. yellow; petals obovate-lanceolate; stamens very long, bright yellow; spikes simple, densely-flowered, on short peduncles, about equal in length to the leaves. August. l. elliptic-oblong, acuminated, smoothish above, and lepidoted beneath. Brazil, 1867. (B. M. 5617.) C. racemosum (racemose).* fl. white, on short pedicels; petals lanceolate, obtuse; panicle of many spikes; spikes elongated, tufted at the apex. February to July. l. ovate-oblong, acute, shining. West Coast of Africa, 1826.