CHAP. LXXXVI.
LABJA'CEyE.
1283
to doubt of the wholesomeness of sage ale, being brewec
it should be with sage, scabious, betony, spiknard, squinanth, .3®*
and fennel seeds.” ( Herbal , p. 766.)
There are several varieties ; one of which has the leaves |s3g|>
variegated; another has the whole plant of a reddish hue; andone (Jig. 1142.), common in the neighbourhood of Paris , andof which there are plants in the Horticultural Society’s Gar- j ] 4,3 ,
den, has leaves larger than those of the species. t
j» S. Hablitz iana Willd., Bot. Mag., t. 1429., and ourJig. 1143., is a native of Siberia , and appears tolerably dis-
«. S. pomifera L.; S. cretica frutescens pomifera Tourn.,
FI. Grcec., 1. t. 15.; and oury%. 1144.; is a native of Candia; introduced in1699. This sort of sage is described as growing 4 ft. or 5 ft. high, andhaving pale blue flowers, like S. officinalis . Thebranches are liable to be punctured by insects; in
consequence of which protuberances are produced 4
as big as apples, in the same manner as galls areproduced upon the oak, and mossy excrescencesupon the rose tree. Tournefort says the spikes offlowers of this kind of sage are 1 ft. in length, andthat the odour of the plant partakes of the commonsage and lavender. In the Isle of Crete , the com-mon sage is said to produce the same excrescencesas those of S. pomifera; and the inhabitants carrythem to market there under the name of sage apples.
This circumstance, and some
te others, induce us to doubt
M. whether pomifera, and several ' s sS!flll|l§8^^3
S' 0 ,*, other of the alleged species,
SP.3% 1 natives of the south of Europe , W ^
' Tgl the Levant, and the north of II /ff
j ^ Hortus Britannicus, are any \
•’cLq thing more than varieties of 8. f'
tSfikLsx officinalis. There are various f*ez****~^i
- jjjlftj - half-hardy species, some of which will be noticed inbIH®.' the Appendix to this chapter.
5? \ Audibertia incana Benth., Bot. Reg., t. 1469., and our
Jig. 1146., is a curious little evergreen shrub, sent fromColombia , in 1827, by Douglas. It grows to theheight of 1 ft. or 2 ft., and produces its pale blue
flowers from July to September. There are plants in the HorticulturalSociety’s Garden.
App. I. Half-hardy ligneous or sujfruticose Species of Labiaceee.
1146 yj? Lavdndula S tce'chas L., Bar. Ic., SOI., N. Du Ham., 3. t.
43., and our Jig. 1149., is an elegant little evergreen shrub,
^ with conspicuous lilac-coloured flowers. It is a native of the
south of Europe , and has been known in gardens since the /days of Gerard. It is commonly kept in green-houses’j but / (it will pass the winter on dry rockwork, with little or no Ulprotection. \$>
L. den.tb.ta L., Bot. Mag., t. 401., and our j%\ 1146., is anative of Spain ; and L. pinnata Bot. Mag., t.400., and our v —'fig. 1147., is a native of Madeira. Both sorts are curious intheir leaves, and well deserve a place in collections* L. vi.ridis L’Herit., FI. Port., 1.1. 4., is a native of Madeira, with
purple flowers, which are produced from May to July.
Plectranthus fruticbsus L’Hdrit. Sert., 85. t. 41., and our
~ 11 wo __ *. l . c __; i.v _ _* _ /.
ib * ccc(./ u.niiiu.o jrccctic xu ricrn. ocri., oo. c. xi., and our
fiz- 1148., is a native of the forests near the Cape of Good fffi.Mgs, ^°P e ' an °W inhabitant of our green.houses, and one of thedUMC* few green-house plants that were found in old conservatories -vj ■in France before the Revolution. In that country, among the J
^ 3 ---— —- ---• — • — .1.-, uuivug IIA'7
. old orange trees, pomegranates, olives, and oleanders, which lL ‘ ii
»re occasionally found lingering about the few old chateaux that still exist, Plectranthus fruticosu*
4 p 3