Plants in the Hortus
Many of the plants described here were listed in the catalogues of plants published by Sir William Macarthur in 1843, 1845, 1850 and 1857 and in an unpublished catalogue dated 1861. A large number of additional plants were identified from correspondence, gardening notebooks and other documents surviving in the archives. The Hortus attempts to describe all the plants grown in the gardens at Camden Park and those grown in horticultural enterprises such as orchards and vineyards and includes plants grown outside the gardens in the park-like environs of the Camden Park estate. The Hortus plants served a wide range of purposes in the 19th century household; as ornament, living fences, fibre, dyestuffs, medicines, food and drink from the garden, orchard and vineyard and many others.
Euphorbia pulcherrima Willd. ex Klotzsch
Frost tender erect to spreading, partially deciduous shrub with lance-shaped, often lobed or toothed leaves, to 15cm long, and terminal cymes, to 30cm across, of small green flowers ringed by large, very showy bright red bracts, in winter. Varieties alba, rosea and others are also commonly grown. To 2.5m. [RHSE, Hortus].
Eupomatia bennettii F.Muell.
Evergreen shrub with lance-shaped leaves to 12cm long, similar to Eupomatia laurina R.Br., which see, except that it only grows to about 1m in height. [RHSD].
Eupomatia laurina R.Br.
Frost tender, evergreen, erect shrub or small tree with alternate, glossy, elliptic leaves, to 12cm long, and solitary, axillary, greenish-yellow flowers, to 2.5cm across, followed by berry-like fruits, to 2cm across. [RHSD, Beadle].
Eustoma russellianum (Hook.) G.Don
Upright annual or biennial with oblong leaves and pale purple flowers. To 90cm. [RHSD, Hortus].
Fagelia bituminosa DC.
Frost-tender, evergreen twining shrub with 3-foliate leaves and axillary racemes of yellow flowers with a dark violet-purple keel, in spring and summer. To 1.2m. [RHSD].
Fagus sylvatica L.
Fully hardy spreading tree with elliptic, wavy-margined leaves, to 10cm long, pale green at first, turning dark green then yellow to orange-brown in autumn. To 25m. There are many forms with differing leaf shape, leaf colour, and tree shape. [RHSE, Hortus, Hilliers’].
Ferraria crispa Burm.
Cormous perennial with linear-lance-shaped, stem-clasping leaves, to 30cm long, and upward-facing, yellowish-brown, spotted flowers, or uniformly brown flowers with a lighter edge, to 2.5cm across, in spring. To 1m. [RHSE, Hortus, CECB].
Ficus carica ‘Black Ischia’
A cultivar of Ficus carica L. Medium sized, turbinate, flat at the top. Skin deep purple, almost black when ripe. Flesh deep red, sweet, and luscious. Tree hardy, and an excellent bearer; succeeds well in pots. August. [Hogg – Fruit Manual p.73/1860].
Ficus carica ‘Brown from Provence’
A cultivar of Ficus carica L. There are a number of figs describe as brown, usually with a specific epithet such as ‘Naples’ or ‘Malta’, but not ‘Provence’, ‘Marseille’ or similar as far as I can ascertain.
Ficus carica ‘Brunswick’
A cultivar of Ficus carica L. ‘Very large and pyriform, oblique at the apex, which is very much depressed. Skin greenish yellow in the shade; violet brown on the other side. Flesh yellow under the skin, tinged with red towards the centre. Very rich and excellent. Middle of August. The tree is very hardy and an excellent bearer, and certainly the best for out-door cultivation against walls.’ [Hogg – Fruit Manual p.74/1860].
Ficus carica ‘Figue Verte’
A cultivar of Ficus carica L. I have found no description of ‘Figue Verte’. Probably John Macarthur’s ‘green, white within’ variety.
Ficus carica ‘Green Ischia’
A cultivar of Ficus carica L. ‘Fruit oblong, somewhat globular at the apex. Skin very thin, green; but when fully ripe, it is stained through by the pulp to a brownish cast: the inside is purple, and will stain linen or paper. Pulp high flavoured, especially in warm seasons. Ripe towards the end of August.’ [George Lindley – Orchard Guide p.167/1831].
Ficus carica ‘Large white from Provence’
A cultivar of Ficus carica L. ‘Fruit large, oblong, with a short foot-stalk. Skin white and thin. Pulp white, but often more or less tinged with purple, sweet and rich. Ripe in August.’ [George Lindley – Orchard Guide p.167/1831].
Ficus carica ‘Large white Genoa’
A cultivar of Ficus carica L. ‘Fruit large, globular, a little lengthened towards the stalk. Skin thin, of a yellowish colour when fully ripe. Pulp red, of a good flavour. Ripe about the end of August. Mr. Forsyth says this bears two crops annually.’ [George Lindley – Orchard Guide p.167/1831].
Ficus carica ‘Nerii’
A cultivar of Ficus carica L. ‘Fruit rather less than the Marseilles, and more long in shape. Skin pale greenish yellow. Pulp similar in colour to that of a pomegranate. It is much the richest of its species; and there is in its juice a slight degree of very delicate acid, which renders it peculiarly agreeable to most palates.’ [George Lindley – Orchard Guide p.167/1831].
