Coronilla
(from corona, a crown; the flowers are disposed in heads or umbels at the tops of the peduncles). Crown Vetch. ORD. Leguminosoe. Ornamental shrubs, or annual and perennial herbs. Peduncles axillary, bearing at their tops umbels of pedicellate flowers. Leaves impari-pinnate. The greenhouse species thrive in a compost of two-thirds loam and one-third turfy peat. Cuttings strike freely if placed in cold frames or a cool house, under a hand glass, in spring, and, when callused, introduced to gentle bottom heat. As soon as rooted, they should be transferred to 60-sized pots, and placed in a frame near the glass, plenty of drainage being given. In order to make them grow bushy, the tops should be freely pinched out; and, as the plants fill the small pots with roots, they should be removed to 48-sized ones, and again returned to the frame. Plenty of air should be given, and, on mild days, the plants may be entirely uncovered; but they need constant attention to watering, as, if allowed to get dry, they become naked at the bottom, which altogether spoils their appearance. Continue to change the pots as required, and, about the first week in September, remove the plants to the greenhouse, where they may remain until the end of May; they should then be again transferred to the open air, in a sheltered position. The hardy species may be propagated by division, in spring; or the young cuttings of some will root in a cold frame. They are also increased by seed, which should be sown as soon as ripe, in a cold frame. The smaller-growing species are admirably adapted for the rockery.
C. coronata (crowned).* fl. yellow; umbels many-flowered. July and August. l., leaflets seven to thirteen, obovate, mucronate, glaucous; lower ones approximating the stem; stipules concrete, small, opposite the leaves, bidentate at the apex. h. 1ft. to 2ft. South Europe, 1776. Plant suffruticose, erect, or ascending. Greenhouse. SYN. C. montana.
C. cretica (Cretan). fl. white, having the vexillum streaked with red, and the keel dark purple; umbels three to six-flowered. June. l., leaflets eleven to thirteen, cuneated, retuse; the lower ones remote from the stem; stipules small, acute. South Europe, 1731. Plant ascending, annual. Greenhouse. (S. F. G. 713.) C. Emerus (Emerus). Scorpion Senna. fl. yellow; peduncles three to five-flowered. April. l., leaflets five to seven, obovate. h. 3ft. to 4ft. South Europe, 1596. Hardy shrub. (B. M. 445.) C. glauca (glaucous).* fl. beautiful yellow, fragrant in the day-time, but scentless at night; umbels seven to eight-flowered. May to September. l., leaflets five to seven, obovate, very retuse, glaucous; lower ones remote from the stem; stipules small, lanceolate. h. 2ft. to 4ft. South Europe, 1722. Half-hardy evergreen shrub. An invaluable plant for greenhouse decoration. (B. M. 13.) C. iberica (Iberian).* fl. yellow, large; umbels seven to eight-flowered. July. l., leaflets nine to eleven, obcordate, ciliated; stipules distinct, membranous, orbicular, denticulated. Iberia, 1822. Plant herbaceous, prostrate, hardy. A very charming subject for the rockery. (L. B. C. 789.) C. juncea (rush-like). fl. bright yellow; umbels five to seven-flowered. June. l., leaflets three to seven, linear-lanceolate, obtuse, rather fleshy; lower ones remote from the stem. Branches rush-like, terete, almost naked, slender. h. 2ft. to 3ft. South Europe, 1656. Half-hardy shrub. (B. R. 820.) C. minima (smallest).* fl. yellow, sweet-scented; umbels seven to eight-flowered. June and July. l., leaflets seven to thirteen, ovate-roundish, obtuse or retuse; lower ones remote from the stem; stipules concrete, small, opposite the leaves, bidentate at the apex. South-west Europe, 1658. Plant suffruticose, procumbent. Half-hardy. (B. M. 2179.) C. montana (mountain). A synonym of C. coronata.
C. stipularis (stipular). A synonym of C. valentina. C. valentina (Valencia). fl. deep yellow, very fragrant at night; umbels six to eight-flowered. March to November. l., leaflets seven to nine, obovate, mucronulate, glaucous; lower ones remote from the stem; stipules roundish, large, deciduous. h. 3ft. South-west Europe, 1596. Greenhouse shrub. SYN. C. stipularis. (B. M. 185.) C. varia (various).* fl. pink and white, or rarely white, at length drooping; umbels sixteen to twenty-flowered. June to November. l., leaflets nine to thirteen, oblong, elliptic, mucronate; lower ones approximating the stem. Europe, 1640. Plant herbaceous, diffuse, flexuous, hardy. (B. M. 258.) C. viminalis (twiggy). fl. pale red, having the vexillum lined lengthwise with red, changing from pale to deep purple, large; umbels six to ten-flowered. May to November. l., leaflets thirteen to twenty-one, obovate, retuse, mucronate; lower ones approximating the stem; stipules ovate. h. 2ft. to 4ft. North Africa, 1798. Greenhouse shrub.