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here were listed in the catalogues of plants published by Sir William Macarthur in 1843, 1845, 1850 and 1857 and in an unpublished catalogue dated 1861.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.

Royena villosa L.

Scrambling shrub or small tree with a densely leafy crown and yellow flowers, to 10mm long, 1-3 in leaf axils. To 3m. [Trees and shrubs of Mpumalanga and Kruger National Park. Schmidt et al].

Rubus idaeus L. subsp. vulgatus

Deciduous shrub, sometimes prickly, the leaves divided with 3-5 leaflets, toothed, downy underneath, the flowers white in racemes, followed by edible red fruits. To 2m. [RHSD, Hortus].

Rubus idaeus subsp. vulgatus ‘Common Red’

See Rubus idaeus L. subsp. vulgatus for a description. The ‘Common Red Raspberry’ is the wild type.

Rubus idaeus subsp. vulgatus ‘Common White’

See Rubus idaeus L. subsp. vulgatus for a description. The ‘Common White Raspberry’ is probably the wild type.

Rubus idaeus subsp. vulgatus ‘Fastolff’

A Rubus idaeus L. subsp. vulgatus cultivar. ‘Fruit large, roundish-conical, bright purplish red, and of excellent flavour. A summer bearer.’ [Hogg – Fruit Manual p.263/1860].

Rubus idaeus subsp. vulgatus ‘Red Antwerp’

A Rubus idaeus L. subsp. vulgatus cultivar. ‘Fruit large, roundish, inclining to conical, of a deep crimson colour, very fleshy, and with a fine brisk flavour and fine bouquet. There are several forms of this variety differing more or less from each other both in the fruit and the canes. The true old Red Antwerp produces vigorous canes, which are almost smooth.’ [Hogg – Fruit Manual p.265/1860].

Rubus idaeus subsp. vulgatus ‘White Antwerp’

A Rubus idaeus L. subsp. vulgatus cultivar.‘Fruit large, conical, of a pale yellow colour, and with a fine, mild, sweet flavour. It produces pale-coloured spiny canes.’ [Hogg – Fruit Manual p.265/1860].

Rubus odoratus L.

Fully-hardy, fast-growing, thicket-forming, deciduous shrub with spineless shoots, ovate, 5-lobed leaves, to 24cm long, and panicles of shallowly cup-shaped, fragrant, purple-pink flowers, to 5cm across, in summer and autumn, followed by flattened, edible red fruit. To 2.5m. [RHSE, Hortus, Hilliers’].

Ruellia formosa Andr.

Frost tender, evergreen perennial subshrub with entire, opposite, ovate leaves, to 7cm long, and funnel-shaped scarlet flowers in summer. To 60cm. [RHSD, Hortus].

Ruellia macrophylla Vahl

Tender sub-shrub with pointed ovate leaves, wavy at the margins, and axillary panicles of bright scarlet flowers. To 1.2m. [RHSD].

Ruschia maxima (Haw.) L.Bolus

Succulent shrub to 1.5m, leaves small, to 5cm long, half-moon shaped and 3-angled, flowers rose-coloured, 2cm across. [Hortus, Flowering Plants of Africa].

Russelia equisetiformis Schltdl. & Cham.

Frost tender, deciduous, branching sub-shrub with rush-like, erect and pendant stems, very narrow elliptic leaves, to 1.5cm long, falling early, and pendant cymes of tubular scarlet flowers, to 3cm long, from spring to autumn. To 1.5m. [RHSE].

Russelia sarmentosa Jacq.

Tender evergreen shrub with small, ovate, toothed leaves, often in whorls of three, and red flowers in many-flowered cymes. [RHSD].

Saccharum officinarum L.

Tall grass with dark green leaves. To 3m. An important economic crop, the source of cane sugar. [RHSD, Hortus].

Salix alba L. var. aurea Hort.

Salix alba is a fully hardy, fast-growing, spreading tree of conical habit with slender branches, drooping at the tips, with lance-shaped leaves, to 10cm long, yellow male catkins, to 5cm long, or stalkless, yellow-green female catkins, to 3cm long, produced in spring with the leaves. Aurea is a less vigorous tree with yellowish-green branches and pale yellow leaves. To 25m. [RHSE, Hilliers’].

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