Serruria
(named in honour of Dr. James Serrurier, Professor of Botany at Utrecht). ORD. Proteaceae. A genus comprising about fifty-two species of desirable, greenhouse, densely leafy shrubs, confined to South Africa. Flowers solitary under the bracts, sessile, densely capitate, sub-regular; perianth narrow, often incurved, the limb ovoid or oblong, the segments cohering towards the base; hypogynous scales four, linear or filiform. Leaves scattered, very narrow, trifid, pinnatifid, or dissected, rarely undivided. A selection of the species known in gardens is given below. They require precisely similar treatment to Protea (which see).
S. abrotanifolia (Abrotanum-leaved). fl. pink, the segments shortly bearded; stigma black; heads sessile, nearly as large as a walnut. July. l. 1in. to 1 1/2in. long, slender, biternate, bipinnatifid above the middle, pilose. Branches glabrous. h. 3ft. 1803. SYN. Protea abrotanifolia hirta (A. B. R. 522).
S. arenaria (sand-loving). fl. purple, five lines long; heads longer than the tomentose peduncles, globose, about the size of a cherry. July. l. clustered, often secund, about 2in. long, slender, pinnate or trifid, the adults glabrous. Branches slender, simple. h. 1ft. 1803. Shrub erect or decumbent. S. Burmanni (Burmann's). fl. purple, three to four lines long, clothed with dense, whitish or yellowish pubescence; partial peduncles shorter than the globose, many-flowered heads; corymb much-branched, rather shorter than the leaves. July. l. 1 1/2in. long, slender, bipinnate; young ones clothed with short, cano-sericeous, adpressed pubescence, rarely spreading. h. 2 1/2ft. 1786. Shrub erect, much-branched.
S. elongata (lengthened). fl. purple, minutely pubescent; bracts reddish-fuscous, 1/4in. long; heads as large as a cherry, sixteen to twenty-flowered; peduncle 3in. to 10in. long, leafless, remotely bracteate; partial ones 1/2in. to 1 1/4in. long, few-bracted. July. l. 3in. to 4in. long, digitate, slightly wrinkled, obsoletely sulcate, and, as well as the erect branches, glabrous. h. 1 1/2ft. to 2ft. 1810.
S. emarginata (emarginate). fl. pink, small, the segments slightly pilose; bracts lanceolate, acute, pink at apex; heads terminal and springing from the upper axils, simple, as large as a cherry. July. l. clustered, about 1in. long, slender, acute, bipinnatifid above the middle (or biternate), pubescent. h. 2ft. 1800. SYN. Protea abrotanifolia minor (A. B. R. 536). S. florida (flowery). fl. purple, five to six lines long, the lamina bearded with golden-fulvous silk; heads in imbricating bracts, seven to nine lines long, approximate-corymbose, globose or ovoid, longer than the bracteate peduncle. July. l. spreading, 2in. to 3in. long, all pinnate or bipinnate, slender; young ones slightly pilose; adults (as well as the ascending branches) glabrous. Stem corymbosely branched. h. 2ft. 1824. S. glaberrima (highly glabrous). fl. purple, very glabrous, or the young ones having a silky tube; heads as large as a cherry, globose, or at length ovoid, axillary or terminal, few-flowered; peduncles about 1in. long, the axillary ones slightly nodding, the terminal ones erect. July. l. remote, acute, erecto-patent, trifid or rarely pinnately five-cleft or sub-pinnatifid; upper ones undivided. Stem 1ft. or more long, prostrate, very slender. 1825. Adult plant highly glabrous.
S. millefolia (Milfoil-like). fl. purple; bracts glabrous at the apex; stigma truncate; peduncles equalling, or longer than, the simple heads. July. l. bipinnatifid from the base. pilose. h. 4ft. 1803. SYN. Protea triternata (A. B. R. 337).
S. nitida (shining). fl. purple, with very narrow claws; bracts nearly equalling the flowers, the outer ones glabrous, the inner ones very silky-villous; heads twice as long as the peduncles. July. l. nearly 1 1/2in. long, pinnatifid or nearly bipinnatifid, slender, and, as well as the branches, highly glabrous. h. 2ft. 1823.
S. Niveni (Niven's). fl. purple, densely bearded; bracts lanceolate; heads sub-sessile, as large as a cherry. July. l. spreading, nearly 1in. long, bipinnatifid, channelled within, very acutely mucronate, and, as well as the branches, highly glabrous. h. 9in. 1800. Plant decumbent, much-branched. SYN. Protea decumbens (A. B. R. 349).
S. odorata (odorous). fl. pink, odorous, the outer ones at length reflexed-spreading; heads simple, terminal. July. l. bipinnatifid-filiform, acute, pilose. Sterile branchlets corymbose, exceeding the heads. h. 2ft. 1803. SYN. Protea abrotanifolia odorata (A. B. R. 545). S. pedunculata (long-pedunculate). fl. purple, densely pubescent, slender, incurved; heads as large as a walnut or prune, solitary or corymbose; peduncles 1 1/2in. to 3in. long, fulvous-tomentose. July. l. clustered, 1 1/2ft. to 2ft. long, shortly pubescent, bi-or tripinnate nearly to the base. Branchlets often umbellate. h. 7ft. 1789. SYN. Protea glomerata (A. B. R. 264).
S. phylicoides (Phylica-like). fl. purple, the claw highly glabrous, the lamina snowy-bearded; heads as large as a hazel nut; peduncles sub-corymbose, longer than the heads. July. l. spreading, 1 1/2in. to 2in. long, once-sulcate above, bipinnatifid or pinnatifid, glabrous; segments 1/2in. to 1in. long, undivided or rarely bifid, rather obtuse. Branches twiggy, loose, leafy. h. 3ft. 1789. SYN. Protea abrotanifolia (A. B. R. 507). S. pinnata (pinnate). fl. pink, sometimes sub-arcuate, clothed with shortly appressed, whitish pubescence; heads globose, as large as a walnut, with villous-tomentose scales; peduncles 1/2in. to 1in. long. July. l. erect, 1in. to 1 1/2in. long, slender, once-sulcate above, pinnately three to five-cleft, semi-terete, spreading-pilose, at length glabrous. Branches elongated, loosely leafy. 1803. Shrub prostrate. (A. B. R. 512.) S. Roxburghii (Roxburgh's). fl. white, four to five lines long, loosely and adpressedly villous; heads ranging in size between a hazel nut and a plum, fulvous-villous. July. l. spreading, five to seven lines long, flabelliform, bipinnate, semi-trifid; segments divaricate, two or three-cleft or pinnatifid, minutely mucronulate. h. 3ft. to 4ft. 1806.
S. rubricaulis (red-stemmed). fl. purple, adpressedly silky-villous; bracts scarious; partial heads few-flowered; common peduncle shorter than the head, glabrous. July. l. erect, 1in. to 1 1/2in. long, bipinnate or sub-pinnate, nearly glabrous. Branches straight, reddish, glabrous or slightly spreading-pilose. h. 2ft. 1818.
S. triternata (triternate). fl. purple, four to five lines long, densely pubescent; heads globose, as large as a cherry, densely many-flowered, at length slightly recurved; partial peduncles 1in. to 2in. long. July. l. spreading, 3in. to 5in. long, triternate or bipinnate, and, as well as the branches, glabrous; segments half spreading, 1/2in. to 1 1/2in. long. Branches twiggy. h. 7ft. 1802. SYN. Protea argentiflora (A. B. R. 447). S. villosa (villous). fl. purple, four to five lines long; heads as large as a cherry or a walnut, sessile, or sometimes very shortly pedunculate. July. l. spreading, nearly 1in., rarely 1 1/2in., long, sub-biternate, at length glabrous; segments slightly diverging, with a slender, incurved or rarely straight mucro. Branches umbellate, straight. h. 2ft. or more. 1829.