Crawfurdia
(named after John Crawfurd, a Governor of the Island of Singapore; author of a History of the Indian Archipelago). SYNS. Pterygocalyx, Triptero-spermum. ORD. Gentianeae. Six or seven species of showy, half-hardy, glabrous, twining herbs natives of East Indies, the Malayan Archipelago, Japan, and Manchuria. Flowers pale blue, axillary, solitary or in fascicles, large and showy. Leaves opposite, three-nerved, acuminated. Branches elongated, slender. Crawfurdias thrive in a mixture of loam, sand, and peat, with thorough drainag. They may be increased by cuttings; or by seeds. The latter should be sown in a gentle heat, in spring; and, in the middle of May, the seedlings should be transplanted at the foot of a south wall, outside. C. fasciculata (fascicled).* fl. purple, large; corolla tubular; limb furnished with accessory segments; peduncles short, fascicled, bibracteate. August. l. lanceolate, acuminated, three to five-nerved. Himalayas, 1855. (B. M. 4838.) C. luteo-viridis (yellowish-green). fl., corolla between funnel and bell-shaped, twice as long as the calyx lobes; tube green; limb white, with green folds. l. ovate, ovate-cordate, or ovate-lanceolate; margin entire, or waved. Stem slender, red with age. Sikkim Himalayas. A very showy twiner when laden with its ellipsoid, cylindric, brilliant red fruits. (B. M. 6539.) C. speciosa (showy).* fl. purple, solitary, on long, nearly naked pedicels; corolla campanulate, without accessory lobes or segments. l. ovate, acuminated, five-nerved. Himalayas, 1879.