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here were listed in the catalogues of plants published by Sir William Macarthur in 1843, 1845, 1850 and 1857 and in an unpublished catalogue dated 1861.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.
Melastoma species unidentified
Melastoma is a genus of about 70 species of mainly evergreen shrubs and small trees from India and South East Asia. They produce bowl- or saucer-shaped flowers, from white to purple, followed by fleshy berries.
Melia azedarach L.
Frost tender, fast-growing, many-branched, spreading, deciduous tree with fissured grey bark, pinnate leaves, to 60cm long, with many, toothed leaflets, and a profusion of star-shaped, fragrant, lilac flowers, to 2cm across, in arching panicles from spring to summer, followed by yellow fruit. To 15m. [RHSE, Hilliers’].
Melia azedarach L. var. semperflorens
Now accepted as a form of Melia azedarach L. For details see Melia azedarach L. The variety semperflorens tends to retain its leaves under appropriate conditions but is not truly evergreen.
Melianthus major L.
Half hardy, tall, erect to spreading shrub with robust, hollow stems, spreading, pinnate leaves, to 50cm long, with 9-17 leaflets, and spike-like racemes, to 80cm long, of crimson to brick-red flowers, to 2.5cm long, in spring and summer. To 3m. [RHSE, Hortus, Hilliers’].
Melianthus minor L.
Similar to Melianthus major L., which see, but less robust, downy rather than smooth, leaves to about 20cm, and red-black flowers in racemes to 40cm long. To 2m. [RHSD, Hortus].
Mesembryanthemum crystallinum L.
Frost tender, annual, carpet-forming succulent with thick, fleshy leaves with undulating margins and groups of 3-5, white, narrow-petalled flowers, to 3cm in diameter, in summer. To 10cm, spreading. [RHSD, Hortus].
Mespilus germanica L.
Fully-hardy, spreading tree or large shrub with alternate, lance-shaped leaves, to 15cm long, and white, sometimes pink-tinged flowers, to 5cm across, in spring and summer, followed by edible, fleshy brown fruit, to 5cm or more across. To 6m. [RHSE, Hortus, Hilliers’].
Metternichia princeps Miers
Frost tender, compact, evergreen, freely branching shrub with terminal and axillary racemes of campanulate white flowers with greenish tubes, in summer. Usually to 1m in cultivation, to 8m in the wild. [RHSD].
Michelia doltsopa Buch.-Ham. ex DC.
Tree with slender pointed leaves, to 25cm long, and strongly scented yellowish, green-tinged flowers. To 25m but sometimes shrubby. [RHSD, Hilliers’].
Michelia figo (Lour.) Spreng.
Frost tender, rounded, bushy, freely-branching, evergreen shrub with lustrous, dark green, oval leaves, to 10cm long, and banana-scented, cup-shaped, yellowish-green to white flowers, to 3cm across, with dark red petal margins, in spring and summer. To 6m. [RHSE, Hortus, Hilliers’].
Michelia figo (Lour.) Spreng. var. anonaefolia
For details of the species see Michelia figo (Lour.) Spreng. ‘It differs from fuscata in its leaves being narrower and the flowers more purple; the plant is also more delicate. If these distinctions are not very strong, they may be deemed satisfactory in a genus composed of few individuals all of which are of a noble and interesting character.’ [LBC no.1072/1825].
Micranthus alopecuroides (L.) Rothm.
Frost-tender cormous perennial with lance-shaped or linear leaves and a sometimes branched stem bearing numerous, small, irregular, slightly scented, individually inconspicuous pale to deep blue flowers, the outer lobes sometimes tipped with red, in summer. To 40cm. [RHSD, CECB].
Microtis unifolia (Forst.f.) Reichb.f.
Terrestrial orchid with a solitary leaf, sheathed for about two thirds of its length, and a terminal spike bearing numerous very small greenish flowers. To 40cm. Beadle describes 4 other species which are sometimes regarded as variants of Microtis unifolia. [Jones, FNSW, Beadle].
Page 126 of 219 pages ‹ First < 124 125 126 127 128 > Last ›
