Fig. 32.—Fuchsia discolor. other. The ovary (c) is green, and when the petals and calyx fall off, it swells into a berry, which becomes of a dark purple when ripe. F. globosa differs from F. coccinea in the flowers being shorter and more globose, while the limb of the calyx curves inward. In F. macrostemma, a well-known Fuchsia, the lobes of the limb of the calyx are, on the contrary, recurved, that is, turned backwards. This formation is common, more or less, to several other species. In F. excorticata, the New Zealand Fuchsia, there is a large fleshy knot at the base of the calyx, and strong ribs running up the lobes; the calyx is green when young, but it afterwards becomes crimson; and the petals are very small. This species is so different from the others, that it was at first described as a new genus, under the name of Skinnera. The calyx is green at first, but it afterwards becomes crimson. F. arborea has pale-purplish flowers, and, like F. lycoides, forms a connecting link between the two sections, the stamens being only a little exserted, and the petals hidden.
F. radicans, the only Fuchsia yet discovered with a creeping stem, which was introduced in 1841, belongs to this division.
These sections include all the Fuchsias known in British gardens previously to 1835; but since that period, two kinds have been introduced, which belong to a third division. These are F. fulgens and F. corymbiflora. In these plants the tube of the calyx is about two inches long, and the lobes are very short. The petals are also short, and scarlet or deep-rose colour, though not exactly of the same hue as the calyx. The leaves are large, with the midribs and veins red; and the branches and pedicels are also of a dark reddish purple.
THE GENUS ŒNOTHERA.
In the description of the botanical construction of the Fuchsia, my readers may have observed, that the ovary is placed below the calyx, and quite distinct from it. The same construction is still more visible in the Œnothera, as the tube of the calyx is very slender, and often more than two inches long, while the ovary is often vase- shaped, and of large size. The calyx of Œnothera biennis, the common Evening or Tree Primrose, consists of four sepals growing together in the lower part, so as to form a long tube (a in fig. 33), and with the upper part or limb generally in two segments (b), which are bent quite back when the corolla expands, and which may be easily divided with a pin into four. There are four petals in the corolla (c), and they are placed so as to wrap over each other at the base. The calyx is lined with the dilated receptacle, and in this lining are inserted the filaments of the eight stamens (as shown at d); the stamens having versatile anthers, that is, anthers attached to the filament by the middle, so as to quiver at every breath. The pollen contained in the cells of these anthers feels clammy when touched; and its particles, when magnified, will be found to be triangular, and connected by small threads, a form of construction peculiar to this genus and its allies. The style is long, and the stigma is four-cleft. The ovary (e e) is situated at the base of the calyx, and when ripe, it becomes a four-celled dry capsule, which bursts into four valves, opening at top to discharge the seed. The seeds, when young, are attached to the central placenta, and they are quite free from hair or wool of any kind.
Fig. 33.—The Evening Primrose (Œnothera biennis).
The genus Œnothera being a very extensive one, it has been divided by M. Spach, a German botanist residing in Paris, into fourteen new genera; but only one, or at most two, of these genera have been adopted by other botanists. One of these Godetia, which embraces all the purple-flowered kinds, has been divided from Œnothera, on account of a slight feathery appearance on the seeds; whereas the seeds of the true yellow-flowered Œnotheras are naked, that is, without the slightest appearance of any feathery substance or wing. The other genus, Boisduvalia Spach, includes only two species, both with pink flowers, which are very seldom seen in British gardens. The generic mark of distinction consists in four of the stamens in these species being shorter than the other four; whereas in the true Œnotheras all the eight stamens are of equal length. As M. Spach’s other genera have not been adopted by any British botanist, it is not worth while troubling my readers with the distinctions between them. The flowers of the yellow Œnotheras only open in the evening, or in cloudy weather; but those of the purple kinds, or Godetias, remain open all day. The leaves in both kinds are alternate.
THE GENUS EPILOBIUM.