Hamiltonia
(named after William Hamilton, an eminent American botanist). SYN. Spermadictyon. ORD. Rubiaceae. A genus comprising three or four species of ornamental stove evergreen shrubs, natives of tropical and sub-tropical India, China, and the Indian Archipelago. Flowers white or blue, fascicled or umbellate; corolla funnel-shaped. Leaves opposite, ovate-lanceolate, shortly petioled. A loam and peat compost is most suited to Hamiltonias. Half-ripened cuttings root freely in sand, under a glass, with a moist bottom heat.
H. scabra (rough). fl. azure-blue, deliciously fragrant; inflorescence densely villous. November to March. l. ovate-lanceolate, short-acuminated, scabrous on both surfaces. h. 4ft. to 6ft. Nepaul, 1823. SYN. Spermadictyon azureum. (B. R. 1235.)
H. spectabilis (showy). fl. lilac-blue, in large, much-branched panicles, agreeably scented. Winter. l. ovate-lanceolate, green and smooth above, paler and rough beneath. h. 4ft. to 6ft. (R. H. 1872, 191.)
H. suaveolens (sweet-smelling). fl. pure white, sessile, in terminal corymb-formed heads, very fragrant. October. l. broad-lanceolate, 3in. to 6in. long. h. 4ft. to 6ft. India to China, 1818. (B. R. 348.)