Home › E › Escallonia (Named in honour of Escallon)

Escallonia (Named in honour of Escallon)

(named in honour of Escallon, a Spanish traveller in South America, who found the first species of this genus in New Grenada). Ord. Saxifrageae. A genus comprising about thirty-five species of ornamental half-hardy evergreen shrubs, all natives of South America. Flowers usually in terminal racemes or panicles. Leaves scattered, serrated, or entire. These fine plants grow freely in almost any ordinary well-drained garden soil. For training against walls, few shrubs are more suitable than E. floribunda and E. macrantha. In the south of England, and on the sea coast more especially, they flourish remarkably well, and are grown extensively as hedge or shelter plants. Propagation may be effected by cuttings, made of half-ripened wood, inserted in sandy loam, and covered with a hand-light; by layers, or by suckers. E. floribunda (bundle-flowered).* fl. white; corymbs terminal, rather panicled, much-branched, leafy; petals obovate-spathulate. July. l. oblong, obtuse, finely crenulated or quite entire. Branches covered with clammy resin. h. 10ft. New Grenada, 1827. SYN. E. montevidensis. (B. M. 6404.) E. illinita (varnished). fl. white; panicle terminal, many-flowered, leafy; petals on long claws. August. l. petiolate obovate or oblong, obtuse, crenulated, attenuated at the base, beset with glandular dots above, and clammy. Branches spreading, resinous. h. 5ft. Chili, 1830. (B. R. 1900.) E. macrantha (large-flowered).* fl. crimson-red, rather large lower peduncles simple, axillary; upper ones racemose. June. l. ovate-elliptic, bluntish, serrated, shining, glandularly dotted below. Branches pubescent, glandular. h. 3ft. to 6ft. Chiloe, 1848. (B. M. 4473.) The variety sanguinea has deep red flowers.

E. montevidensis (Monte Video). A synonym of E. floribunda. E. organensis (Organ Mountains).* fl., petals deep rose-colour, five, spathulate, the claws erect, linear, so closely placed as to form a tube; limb exactly horizontally patent, oval or obovate, obscurely crenate at the margin. l. alternate, oblong, copious, erect, somewhat imbricated, glossy, rigid, dark green above, with a red margin, rather obtuse at the point, tapering at the base into a short petiole. Stems and branches rich red-brown. h. 2ft. to 4ft. Organ Mountains, 1844. A lovely plant. (B. M. 4274.) E. Philippiana (Philippi's). fl. white; panicles terminal and lateral, densely crowded. July. l. rich green, somewhat spathulate, serrated. Valdivia, 1873. (G. C. n. s., x. 109.) E. pterocladon (winged-branched). fl. white and pink, small, axillary. July. l. very small. h. 4ft. Patagonia, 1854. (B. M. 4827.) E. pulverulenta (dusted). fl. white; petals obovate; racemes terminal, erect. June. l. elliptic, obtuse, on short petioles, serrulated, rather clammy above when young. Branches rather erect, somewhat trigonal. Shrub hairy in every part. h. 6ft. to 10ft. Chili, 1831. (S. B. F. G. ii. 310.) E. punctata (dotted). fl. one to four, rarely more, in terminal corymbs, sub-erect; corolla deep dark red. July. l. bright green, sessile, or narrowed into a very short petiole, elliptic-ovate, acute, finely serrated, the serration often irregular; upper surface glossy, with deeply impressed veins; under paler, smooth, glabrous, or glandular pubescent, or gland-dotted. h. 3ft. to 6ft. Chili. A much-branched evergreen shrub. SYN. E. rubra punctata. This is easily distinguished from E. rubra by the stalked glands upon the young shoots, &c. (B. M. 6599.) E. rubra (red).* fl. red; petals spathulate; peduncles two to seven-flowered, bracteate. July to September. l. obovate-oblong, acuminated, serrated, full of resinous dots beneath. Branches erect, when young clothed with glandular hairs. h. 3ft. to 6ft. Chili, 1827. Shrub smoothish. (B. M. 2890.) E. r. punctata (red-dotted). A synonym of E. punctata.