Schizandra
(from schizo, to cleave, and aner, andros, a male; the stamens are split). Including Maximowiczia and Sphaerostema. TRIBE Schizandreoe of ORD. Magnoliaceae. A genus comprising six species of ornamental, stove, greenhouse, or hardy, sarmentose shrubs; one is a native of North America, and the rest are found in tropical or Eastern Asia. Flowers red, yellowish, or whitish, unisexual; sepals and petals nine to twelve, passing gradually the one into the other; stamens of the males five to fifteen, more or less united in a globe or ring; carpels of the females numerous; peduncles solitary, one-flowered. Leaves membranous, pellucid-dotted, exstipulate. The under-mentioned species are those best known in gardens; they thrive in a mixture of sandy loam and peat. Ripened cuttings will root readily if inserted in sand, under a glass.
S. chinensis (Chinese). fl. pale rose. Summer. fr. scarlet, persistent during a great part of the winter. l. simple. h. 20ft. Northern China, 1860. A handsome, hardy, climbing shrub.
S. coccinea (scarlet). fl. crimson, small, on long peduncles; stamens five; uppermost flowers mostly staminate. May and June. l. alternate, oblong, acuminate, long-petioled, 3in. to 4in. long, often somewhat toothed. Stem climbing high. North America, 1806. Greenhouse. (B. M. 1413.) S. marmorata (marbled). l. of a bold character, acuminately heart-shaped, beautifully marked with silvery, fleece-like spots or clouds on the green surface. Borneo, 1860. A fine, stove climber. SYN. Sphaerostema marmoratum. S. propinqua (related). fl. pale yellow, at length orange, solitary or twin, drooping a little. July. l. ovate-lanceolate, rounded or cuneate at base, long-acuminated at apex. h. 6ft. Nepaul, 1828. Stove. (B. M. 4614, under name of Sphaerostema propinguum.)