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Swainsona (Named in honour of Isaac)

(named in honour of Isaac Swainson, F.R.S., a celebrated cultivator of plants, about the end of the last century, at Twickenham). Including Cyclogyne. ORD. Leguminosae. A genus comprising about twenty-three species of very elegant, greenhouse herbs or sub-shrubs; one is a native of New Zealand, and the rest are Australian. Flowers bluish-violet, purple, red, rarely white or yellow, disposed in axillary, often pedunculate racemes; calyx teeth sub-equal, or the two upper ones shorter; standard orbicular or reniform, spreading or reflexed; wings oblong, falcate or slightly twisted, often shorter than the broad, incurved keel; bracts membranous, usually narrow or small. Pods ovoid or oblong, turgid or inflated. Leaves impari-pinnate; leaflets numerous, entire, exstipellate; stipules usually herbaceous, rarely bristly. The species best known to cultivators are described below. They are all Australian, and well deserve a place in every greenhouse, thriving in a mixture of sandy loam and peat. Propagation may be readily effected by young cuttings, inserted in sand, under a glass; or by seeds. S. atrococcinea (dark scarlet). Probably a garden name for a form of S. galegifolia.

S. canescens (hoary). fl. blue or violet-purple, variegated with pink, and with a green blotch at the base of the standard, nearly sessile; calyx silky-hairy; keel much curved; racemes many-flowered, on long, silky-villous peduncles. May. l., leaflets nine to fifteen, obovate or oblong-elliptic, obtuse or retuse, 1/2in. to 1in. long, nearly glabrous above, softly pubescent beneath. Stock woody, with erect, but herbaceous, stems, 1ft. to 2ft. high. (P. M. B. vii. 199, under name of Cyclogyne canescens.) S. coronillaefolia (Coronilla-leaved). A form of S. galegifolia. S. galegifolia (Galega-leaved).* fl. deep red, rather large; standard having prominent callosities above the claw; racemes pedunculate, exceeding the leaves, and sometimes twice as long. July. l., leaflets eleven to twenty-one, or rarely more, oblong, obtuse or emarginate, mostly 1/3in. to 2/3in. long. 1800. A glabrous perennial or sub-shrub, with erect, flexuous branches, 1ft. high, or sometimes climbing to several feet. (L. J. F. 304, under name of S. Osbornii; A. B. R. 319, under name of Vicia galegifolia; B. M. 792, under name of Colutea galegifolia.) S. albiflora (B. R. 994; L. B. C. 1642) is a form with white flowers, and S. coronillaefolia (B. M. 1725) has light purplish-pink flowers. The plants in gardens under names of S. atrococcinea, S. magnifica, and S. purpurea are probably forms of this species. S. Greyana (Grey's).* Darling River or Poison Pea. fl. pink, large, in long, erect, pedunculate racemes; calyx densely cottony-white, longer than the pedicels; standard 3/4in. in diameter. July. l., leaflets eleven to twenty-one, oblong, obtuse or retuse, 3/4in. to 1in., or sometimes 1 1/2in., long. Stems erect or ascending, 2ft. to 3ft. high. 1844. Perennial herb or sub-shrub. (B. M. 4416; B. R. 1846, 66.) S. lessertiifolia (Lessertia-leaved). fl. violet-purple, rather small, in short racemes, sometimes reduced to umbels or heads, on peduncles longer than the leaves; standard without callosities. July. l., leaflets nine to fifteen, or rarely more, oblong, obtuse, mucronate, or almost acute, 1/4in. to 1in. long. Stems diffuse or ascending, 1ft. to 1 1/2ft. high. 1824. Perennial herb. S. magnifica (magnificent), of gardens. Probably a form of S. galegifolia. S. occidentalis (Western). fl. purple, numerous, in long, pedunculate racemes; calyx sparsely hairy; standard 1/2in. broad, but not so long. Summer. l., leaflets eleven to seventeen, or occasionally more, oblong, obtuse, or acute, 1/4in. to nearly 1in. long. Stems usually erect, and bent in zigzag form at the nodes. h. 2ft. to 3ft. A glabrous or pubescent perennial. (B. M. 5490.) S. procumbens (procumbent). fl. violet or blue, large and fragrant, disposed in a loose raceme, on a peduncle often attaining 1ft.; standard about 1in. long, deeply emarginate, without callosities; keel much incurved. Summer. l., leaflets eleven to twenty-one or more, varying from oblong or almost linear, and 1/4in. to 1/2in. long, to lanceolate or linear, acute, and upwards of 1in. long. Stems procumbent, ascending, or erect. 1862. Perennial herb. SYN. S. violacea.

S. purpurea (purple), of gardens. Probably a form of S. galegifolia. S. violacea (violet). A synonym of S. procumbens.