Passiflora laurifolia - Botanical magazine Vol I Nº13 (1815)

The Botanical register consisting of coloured figures of exotic plants cultivated in British gardens with their history and mode of treatment Sydenham Teast Edwards, John Lindley

One of the oldest stove-plants in our collections, having been introduced from the West Indies by Mr. Bentinck, afterwards Lord Portland, in 16*90. It has been found wild by Plumier and Jacquin in the Island of Martinique, growing only in the closest groves and thickets, where it winds itself round the trees for support. According to Swartz and Miller, it is known among the english colonists in the West Indies by the name of " the Water-Lemon :" Jacquin and Browne say by that of " the Honeysuckle;" the latter attributing the former appellation to maliformis, a closely allied species. Among the french colonists the fruit is included in the denomination of " Pommes de Lianes." This is nearly of the form and size of a smallish Lemon, yellow spotted with white, having a soft leathery rind, enclosing a mass of separate brown flattish cordate cohesive seeds, each coated by a thick pulpy membrane constituting the esculent portion of the fruit, much as the case is with the Pomegranate. The pulp is watery and sweetish, of a pleasant taste, for the sake of which .the fruit is eaten, as well as medicinally in fevers. When the rind is broken at the top, the eatable contents are obtained at once by a slight compression. The flowers are both fragrant and beautiful ; the young foliage is of a bright tender green, gradually darkening till nearly black, in which it re- .sembles, as well as slightly in shape, that of the Laurel. The way to grow the present, and indeed all the tropical Climbers, is to plant them in a border of earth formed round the inside of the bark-bed of the stove, and parted off from the tan by thick boarding down to the bottom of the bed : the whole to be backed by trellis-work for them to climb on. In this way they thrive in great luxuriance, and are made to form a bower, some part or other of which is in bloom nearly the year through. Propagated without difficulty by layers and cuttings. Our drawing was made at the Comtesse de Vaudes's, Bayswater.

Passiflora laurifolia

Passiflora tinifolia
Curtis's Botanical Magazine Nº 4958, Vol. 83 (1857)

Introduced to Monserrate in 1860.

Passiflora laurifolia L.
Species Plantarum 2: 956. 1753.

Synonyms
Granadilla laurifolia (L.) Medik.
Killip, E. P. 1938. The American Species of Passifloraceae [concl.]. Publ. Field Mus. Nat. Hist., Bot. Ser. 19(2): 333–613.
!Passiflora acuminata DC.
Flora of China Editorial Committee, 2007. Fl. China Vol. 13.
Passiflora laurifolia var. tinifolia (Juss.) Bois
Killip, E. P. 1938. The American Species of Passifloraceae [concl.]. Publ. Field Mus. Nat. Hist., Bot. Ser. 19(2): 333–613.
Passiflora oblongifolia Pulle
Killip, E. P. 1938. The American Species of Passifloraceae [concl.]. Publ. Field Mus. Nat. Hist., Bot. Ser. 19(2): 333–613.
Passiflora tinifolia Juss.
Killip, E. P. 1938. The American Species of Passifloraceae [concl.]. Publ. Field Mus. Nat. Hist., Bot. Ser. 19(2): 333–613.
Flora of China Editorial Committee, 2007. Fl. China Vol. 13.


Illustrated Botanical Magazine 4958 (1857) as Passiflora tinifolia.






PASSIFLORA Tinifolia.
Laurestine-leaved Passion -flower.

Nat. Ord. Passifloreae —Monadelphia Pentandria.
Gen. Char. (Vide supra, Tab. 4406).

Passiflora (§ Granadilla) tinifolia; foliis oblongis brevi-acuminatis integerrimis basi obtusis, petiolis brevibus infra apicem biglandulosis, stipulis lineari-subulatis, bracteis araplis ovalibua apice pauci-crenatis dentibus glanduligeris, coronae filamentis calycem aequantibus.

Passiflora tinifolia. Juss. Ann. Mus. v. 6. p. 113. t. 41. f. 2. De Cand. Prodr. v. 3.p. 328. Spreng. Syst. Veget. v. 3. p. 36.

A rare and very little known species of Passion-flower, of the group or section called "Granadilla" of De Cand. Mem.: that is, having a triphyllous involucre beneath the flower, whose leaflets are entire or toothed, not laciniated; the calyx ten-lobed; the pedicels single-flowered, and with simple cirrhi arising from the same axils with the flowers. This group contains the eatable kinds of Passiflora. Jussieu's figure and description were made from Richard's dried specimens gathered in French Guiana. We knew not of any other locality, till our friend Charles S. Parker of Liverpool sent us living specimens, derived from Demerara, in July of the past year, 1856. It is a species of considerable beauty, and the fruit, described as " globose, yellow, of the size of an apricot," is probably as esculent and well-flavoured as that of the other edible species, especially of the P. laurifolia, L., its nearest ally; which however differs from our plant in its shorter and, at the base, more heart-shaped leaves, stipules which are truncated obliquely at the apex; in the two glands of the petiole being placed nearer the leaf; in the large, oval, more crenulated leaflets of the involucre, which are equal in length with the calyx, of which the segments do not exceed in length the longest filaments of the corona. It is a plant of easy cultivation in a moist stove.

Descr. Stem climbing, the branches terete, glabrous, tinged with purple on one side. Leaves about four inches long, alternate, distant, oblong or subelliptical, quite undivided and entire at the margin, subcoriaceous, the base obtuse, the apex shortly acuminated; penniveined, the veins connected by slender veinlets. Petiole short, about half an inch long, bearing below the apex two prominent glands. Stipules two, linear-subulate, herbaceous. Peduncle about an inch long, solitary, axillary, single-flowered, having a little below the flower three large erect bracts or leaflets, of an oval shape, membranaceous, green, erect, faintly and distantly striated, crenato-dentate at the apex; teeth few, distant, each bearing a conspicuous gland; these three constitute the involucre, which is about half the length of the flower. Sepals narrow-oblong, greenish-white without, red within. Corona consisting of a double ray; exterior of several filaments half the length of the interior, purple, barred with white at the base, and white at the subcapitate apex; inner row of numerous, equal, thickened but compressed filaments, barred with white and red at the base, and white-purple and white in the upper half; the apex dilated and toothed: there is an innermost circle or ring, which is tuberculated, and which would be considered by some as a third ray. Column, stamens, and styles and stigmas as in the genus.

Fig. 1. Section of a portion of the flower, showing the nature of the corona Filamentosa:—magnified.

Monserrate 1834

Passing the Penha Verde (green rock)—quinta of the famous John de Castro, viceroy of India, on its commanding plateau, I reached the former residence of the author of Vathek. Nothing could be better selected than the site of this once luxurious residence ; now how silent and forsaken ! On a lower outwork or spur of the mountain, it occupies the extremity of a green hill, and looks down on a fertile plain, and on the valley of Colares with its vineyards arid orchards, whilst the far-off roar of the ocean comes up on the breeze from the west.

Montserrat consists of two circular towers at the extremities of a square centre, and connected with it by galleries; the first tower is the entrance hall; the further one, the music-room. The portals stood open, the windows and roofs were demolished, the beams giving way; whilst the wind swept with melancholy cadence through the empty apartments, and stirred the leaves of shrubs and trees within and about this desolate dwelling.

Sketches in Portugal, during the civil war of 1834
James Edward Alexander
Published by J. Cochrane and co., 1835
p. 227-8

Archivo pittoresco 1866

Archivo pittoresco
Published by Tip. de Castro Irmão., 1866
vol. 9, p. 24

Quando publicamos no vol. VII, a pag. 245, um artigo do sr. J. M. D. de Oliveira Travassos, descrevendo o sitio de Monserrate e o seu antigo palacio e quinta, promettemos mostrar em gravura aos nossos leitores o palacio no seu estado actual de restauracao e engrandecimento. Vamos hoje cumprir essa promessa.

Uma lenda popular de antigas eras diz que sob о dominio dos árabes ja era cultivada e habitada essa collina graciosa que resalta da serra de Cintra, e agora vemos transformada em jardim de mimosas flores. Era entáo, segundo a lenda, uma quinta de um musarabe, fidalgo christão que vivia tranquillamente em umas casas no alto da quinta, onde ora campeia o formoso palacio acastellado.

Nao obstante a sua sujeição aos moiros, aquelle fidalgo, sentindo correr-lhe nas veias sangue illustre dos godos, era altivo e mal soffria o jugo tyrannico dos conquistadores da sua patria. Assim, pois, estes sentimentos, excitados constantemente pelo odio contra os inimigos da fé christã, vieram a romper em discordias com o alcaide moiro do visinho castello de Cintra.

Como ambos se jactavam de serem cavalleiros esforçados e briosos, nao quiz o sarraceno prevalecer-se da auctoridade para se vingar dos desdens e desprezos do seu rival. Confiou, pois, a vingança ao valor de seu braco, e desafiou o christão a medir-se com elle em duello a todo o transe. Foi o alcaide procurar o fidalgo à sua propria casa, e ao lado d'ella, no alto da collina, travaram encarniçado combate. Eram tão eguaes nos dois campeões a valentía e a coragem, que por algum tempo esteve indecisa a victoria, até que, em fim, a sorte das armas, ou a fortuna, que é cega, a decidiu a favor do alcaide. O pobre fidalgo christão caíu morto aos pés do vencedor.

Como é bem fácil de crer, este acontecimento lancou em grande consternaçào as familias musarabes que habitavam na próxima villa de Cintra. Reputando aquella morte um verdadeiro martyrio, começaram a visitar a sepultura do martyr, banhando-lh'a com lagrimas, e orando fervorosamente para que a Virgem Maria, condoendo-se da triste escravidâo em que viviam, os libertasse de tao abominavel dominio.

Nao tardou muitos annos que a espada victoriosa de Alfonso Henriques expulsasse os moiros da villa de Cintra, hasteando ao mesmo tempo nas torres do seu castello o glorioso pendào das quinas.

Vencidos os inimigos da Cruz, lembraram-se alguns fiéis de erigir urna casa de oração, como agradecidos do seu livramento, sobre a sepultura do ultimo martyr da sua fe. Fez-se a obra, porém acanhada e mesquinha, como quasi todas as construcçôes d'essa epocha.

Perseverou por longos annos a ermidinha consagrada á Mae de Deus, até que veiu a arruinar-se; e a devoção, arrefecida pelo correr dos lempos, e olvidada das lembrancas do martyr que allí jazia, deixou ficar em ruinas o padrão, humilde mas piedoso, da restaurado de Cintra do poder dos infieis.

Esta é a lenda popular, não auctorisada por documento algum ou memoria escripta respeitavel. Entretanto, os que acreditam n'ella, pretendem que o padre Gaspar Preto, que no anno de 1540 edificou allí uma ermida, dedicada a Nossa Senhora de Monserrate, de quem o sitio tomou o nome, fôra reedificador e nao fundador, corno geralmente se cré. Dizem mais, que a imagem da Virgem, de alabastro, que se venerava na dita ermida, fora por elle proprio comprada em Roma; e que, de regresso á patria, visitando um dia o logar ermo da serra de Cintra, onde se viam os restos da antiga ermidinha, se lembrára de fazer reviver o culto de Nossa Senhora no mesmo logar onde o tivera logo depois do resgate d'aquella térra. E quanto ao titulo da Senhora, ac- crescentam que lh'o dera o padre Gaspar Prcto, em recordação da visita que fez, na sua volta de Roma, ao celebrado sanctuario de Nossa Senhora de Monserrate, que se venera na Hespanha, no meio de uma serrania fragosa e alcantilada.

De tudo isto o que se pode ter por certo é a fundação ou reconstrução da ermida feita por aquello padre. N'esse seculo (XVI) pertencia aquella collina, com mais alguns terrenos junto da raiz d'ella, ao hospital de -Todos os Santos, em Lisboa. No seculo seguinte aforou o dito hospital esta propriodade a algum membro da familia Mello de Castro, ou a pessoa que depois a transmittiu a essa familia, pois que no principio do seculo XVIII estava de posse d'ella Caetano de Mello de Castro, vice-rei da India, e casado com D. Marianna de Faro, filha dos segundos condes da Ilha do Principe. Fallecendo aquelle fidalgo na India, em 1718, declarou no seu testamento, feito n'esse anno, que vinculara a sua quinta da Bella Vista ou de Monserrale, na serra de Cintra. Esta disposição foi levada a effeito com as formalidades da lei por seu filho e successor, Antonio de Mello de Castro, que morreu victima do terremoto de 1 de novembre de 1755. Nao tendo deixado filhos, passou a casa a seu irmão Francisco de Mello de Castro, que serviu tambem na India, como seu рае e avô.
N'este decurso de tempo fui muito melhorada aquella quinta, e construiram-se no alto d'ella umas casas para residencia de verão dos seus proprietaries. Parece que ja entao se achava com alguma ruina a ermida do padre Gaspar Preto.

Francisco de Mello de Castro casou na India com D. Joaquina de Mello, que era viuva de José de Saldanha, e filha do general Martinho da Silveira de Menezes. Tendo succedido na casa d'aquelle fidalgo sua filha, ou neta, D. Francisca Xavier Marianna de Faro o Mello, que foi casada com D. Lopo José de Almeida Pimentel, esta senhora, achando-se viuva e residente em Goa, arrendou a sua quinta em Cintra a Gerardo Devisme, negociante estrangeiro estabelecido em Lisboa. Foi feito o arrendamenlo por nove anuos, a commeçar no dia 10 de julho de 1790, em que se assignou.

Gerardo Devisme era um homen de bastante riqueza e bom gosto, do que é documento a magnifica e formosa quinta e palacio de S. Domingos de Bemfica, por elle fundados para sua residencia, sob os planos e direccáo de Ignacio de Oliveira Bernardos, pintor e architecto de merecimento, e que actualmente sao propriedade e habitação de sua alteza real a serenissima infanta D. Isabel María.

Grande apreciador das bellezas de Cintra, mas nao menos dos regalos с commodidades da vida, arrendou aquella quinta a longo prazo com o intento de a plantar a seu gosto, e de edificar n'ella uma casa com as condições que desejava. Com effeito, sem lhe pesar no animo ir gastar tanto dinheiro em uma quinta alheia, embora contasse renovar o arrendamento além dos nove annos, deu começo as obras pela demolição da casa antiga e da ermida, e no seu logar lançou os fundamentos do novo edifcio.

A mais de um escripior temos visto attribuir o risco d'esta obra a Ignacio de Oliveira Bernardos. Cremos, porém, que é equivoco, procedido de ter este architecto delineado, para o mesmo Devisme, o palacio e quinta de S. Domingos de Bemfica. O que nos move dúvidas é ter sido feito o arrendamento ácima referido no anno de 1790, e ter fallecido Ignacio de Oliveira Bernardos no dia 18 de Janeiro de 1781. Poderia ser que Devisme lhe tivesse encommendado o desenho de uma casa de campo antes de realisar a construcçâo. Mas contra esta presumpçao adduziremos um argumento forte, que vem a ser, que o pintor Cyrillo Volkmar Machado, na sua Collecção de memorias relativas as vidas dos pintores e esculptores, architectos e gravadores portugueses, fallando com alguma largueza acerca de Oliveira Bernardos, ennumera, entre as obras que fez como architecto civil, a casa e quinta de Gerardo Devisme. Refere-se, porém, Somente a uma, que nao pode deixar de ser a de S. Domingos de Bemfica, porque era a principal residencia d'este opulento negociante, e sabe-se com certeza que no todo ou em parte foi obra d'aquelle architecto. E Cyrillo Machado foi contemporáneo e collega de Oliveira Bernardos, e morreu em 1823 com 74 anuos de edade.

Ignoramos se Devisme chegou a concluir a casa de Monserrate, pois que, muito antes de finalisar o seculo, retirou-se inopinadamente de Portugal, por motivo de desgostos que teve n'este reino. Por essa occasiao, ou mais tarde por sua morte, succedida em Londres no anno de 1798, foi vendida ao marquez de Ábrantes a sua propriedade de S. Domingos de Bemfica, cujos herdeiros a venderam tambem em 1831 á serenissima senhora infanta D. Isabel Maria. Quatro annos antes de fallecer, arrendou da sua mão a quinta de Monserrate a um opulento inglez chamado Beckford. Foi então que principiaram os fastos gloriosos d'esta propriedade, que breve passaram, como passam rápidamente todas as glorias mundanas.

Era filho o novo rendeiro de William Beckford, que se immortalisou e adquiriu immensa popularidade pela singular energía e coragem com que fallou a Jorge III em 1770, sendo entao lord maire de Londres, expondo ao monarcha, em phrases sentidas e severas, as justas queixas do povo contra o sou governo: nobre exemplo de dedicação e lealdade que o povo da capital galardoou, levantando-lhe uma estatua na casa da cámara, e, para que ficasse bem conhecida e perpetuada a memoria do feito, fez com que o esculptor représentasse aquello corajoso cidadao com o braço erguido, e segurando na mão um papel em que se liam as suas memoraveis palavras.

Por sua morte logou a seu filho, a par de um nome bemquisto e respeitado, mui avultadas riquezas; e tudo isto reunido á mais esmerada educação e aos mais apreciaveis dotes do espirito e do coracao, habilitaram o joven Beckford a contrahir matrimonio com a formosa lady Margarida Gordon, filha do conde de Aboyne, par de Escocia. A perda da esposa ao dar á luz o segundo fructo de seu ardente amor, levou-o a procurar lenitivo para a sua dor longe da terra que tinha sido testimunha da sua passageira felicidade.

Beckford veiu a Portugal na primavera do anno de 1787. Lisboa e Cintra foram as terras onde fez a sua principal residencia, e alli viveu alguns mezes no seio da mais elevada sociedade, que o distinguía com particulares provas de estima. Fez algumas digressões pelo interior do paiz, e nos fins d'esse mesmo anno continuou a sua viagem, passando á Hespanha.

Recolhido á patria, pouco tempo de repoiso ahi desfructou, pois que se viu obrigado a sair d'ella furtivamente em 1794, por se achar implicado em um processo criminal. As saudosas recordaçoes que levara de Portugal, sobre tudo de Cintra, conduziram-n'o directamente a Lisboa, e foi entâo que obteve que Devisme Ihe cedesse a quinta de Monserrate.

Dissemos acima que nao sabíamos o estado em que Devisme deixára as obras do palacio. Porém o que é certo é que Beckford emprehendeu e executou muitos e importantes trabalhos de construcçao, ou fossem para concluir ou augmentar o edificio, ou para o aformosear, e mais a quinta. Durante alguus annos que viveu n'este reino, Beckford fez d'aquellu residencia um verdadeiro paraíso, porque as bellezas naturaes da paizagem accrescentou as galas, elegancia e conchego que so a opulencia e um gosto aprimorado sabem e podem produzir, dando realce e animação a tudo isso com os encantos da mais alegre e espirituosa convivencia, entretida pelo condão da hospitalidade franca, benevolente e graciosa.

N'esse trato intimo que teve com muitas das principaes familias da corte, enamorou-se Beckford de uma gentil donzella, vergontea bastarda da antiga e nobilissima estirpe dos Marialvas. E a tal ponto se rendeu aos attractives da joven formosura, que chegou a solicitar, dizem, a sua mão e um titulo de nobreza, resolvido a fixar n'este paiz a sua residencia. Porém, apesar das immensas riquezas que possuia, e que tâo fidalga e generosamente dispendia; apesar do fausto e ostentação do seu viver, e da nobreza da familia que nao desdenhára recebel-o no seu seio; apesar das vivas sympathias que sabia inspirar a quantos o tratavam, pela influencia da illustração e graça do seu espirito, e da lhaneza e affabilidade das suas maneiras; nao obstante todas essas poderosissimas condiçoes, nao conseguiu o que pretendía *.

Ou o orgulho da nobreza, ou a differença de religião, e talvez ambas as coisas, armaram de inflexivel recusa o marquez de Marialva. E da rainha D. Maria I apenas por graça única alcançou que esta soberana solicitasse e obtivesse del-rei de Inglaterra o perdão para elle.

Ferido no seu pundonor e na sua mais cara affeição, Beckford abandonou o paiz que ja amava como patria adoptiva, e depois de viajar por França e Italia, voltou para Inglaterra, onde procurou distrahir as recordaçoes da esposa e as saudades da amante com a construcçao e decorações da sua sumptuosa propriedade de Fontill, que se tornou uma residencia verdaderamente digna de um soberano, pois que á grandeza e magnificencia do edificio juntava-se a riqueza dos movéis, dos primores de arte e preciosidades de todo o genero que encerrava, entre as quaes se viam muitos objectes que recordavam a sua estada em Portugal.

Beckford morreu de edade avancada, e alguns annos antes de fallecer teve a honra de receber em sua casa sua magestade fidelissima, a joven rainha D. Maria II, chegada do Brasil havia pouco, e que allí foi admirar a sua famosa galería de quadros e outras soberbas collecções de objectos de arte, que faziam d'aquelle palacio uma singular maravilha da Inglaterra, e que elevaram o seu preço, no leilão disputadissimo que de tudo se fez depois da morte de Beckford, á immensa somma de 340:000 libras esterlinas 2.

Depois da saida de Beckford de Portugal, a quinta e palacio de Monserrale foram arrendados a diversas pessoas. Porém a falta de tratamento, junto á accão

1 Beckford occupava na sua patria uma posição social tão respeitavel, que a sua filha Suzana Euphemia. cujo nascimento custou a vida а sua infeliz mãe, veiu а ser duqueza de Hamilton na Escocia, duqueza de Brandon na Inglaterra, e duqueza de Chatellerand em Franca,

2 Na sua primeira viagem a Portugal Beckford escreveu uma serie de cartas curiosissimas, que retratam ao natural a corte da rainha D, María I. A segunda viajem de Beckford a Portugal forneceu аssumpto ao nosso collaborador e muí distincte escriptor, o sr. Rebello da Silva, para compor um livro que intitulou Lagrimas e thesouros, lindo romance com que enriqueceu a littaratura patria.

destruidora do tempo, determinaram a rápida decadencia d'esta propriedade, que chegou, em fim, a completo estado de ruina. Concorreram muito para isso, sem dúvida, os acontecimentos políticos do principio d'esté seculo. As invasoes francezas, os sacrificios que ellas impozeram á nacâo, a partida da familia real para o Brasil e da maior parte da nobreza da capital, obstaram certamente a que alguma familia poderosa, procurando ir passar os veröes n'aquella deliciosa mansao a livrasse, pelo menos, de maior ruina.

Finalmente, ao cabo de longo e completo abandono, foi subrogada ao sr. Francisco Cook, subdito britannico, pelo sr. Luiz Caetano de Castro e Almeida Pimentel de Sequeira e Abreu, que então a possuia.

O palacio, sacudindo de si o pó das ruinas, tomou uma forma mais nobre e esbelta, Enfeitou-se por fóra com columnas de marmore, com janellas gothícas de variados relevos, e com graciosas cúpulas. Adornou-se por dentro com muita variedade de marmores finissimos, entre os quaes sobresaem magnifícas columnas de porfido; com estuques e pinturas mui ricas; com lindos sobrados de madeiras diversas embutidas, formando mui bonitos desenhos: com movéis, alfaias, e obras de arte de subido custo e bom gosto, dos tempos antigos e modernos.

A quinta tambem passou por egual transformação: A numerosissima collecção de plantas exóticas e raras que encerra, umas admiraveis pela belleza das flores, outras singulares pela exquisita folhagem; a abundancia e frescura das aguas; a arte e bom gosto que presídiram á abertura das rúas, á disposicáo das plantas e á direccao dos mananciaes, auxiliados por aquelle benigno clima, por aquella natureza tão potente, que empresta allí á vegetacâo o brilho e pompas que a dos trópicos óstenta: tantas galas e encantos, realçados ainda mais pela formosura da situação, parecem realisar essas vivendas de fadas, creação phantastica dos poetas nos arrojados vôos da sua ardente imaginação.

A esta quinta de Monserrate, que, afora os pomares, é toda de regalo, annexou O sr. Cook outra propriedade, denominada do Espirito Santo, toda consagrada à lavoira segundo os processes e instrumentos mais modernos; o que constituí; uma quinta modelo. A nossa gravura é copia de uma photographia. Sobre a situação de Mouserrate veja-se o volume e paginas citadas no começo d'esté artigo.
I. DE VILHENA BARBOSA.

p.185 - 187

Monserrate 1821

LETTER XI.

Cintra, July. [1821]

We have this evening been to see the quinta of " Montserrat," by far the most picturesque place in this neighbourhood; it comprises every beauty and sublimity which Cintra has to boast, being situated upon very elevated ground, in the bosom of a wood of cork-trees, surrounded by orange-trees, and rocky fountains; hemmed in on three sides by mountains, (among which are those crowned by the Penha convent, and the Moorish castle,) and open on the other to the level champaign country, rich in vineyards and corn-fields, which stretches out for about six miles, when it is bounded by the sea. The mansion itself had a singular charm for me, delighting, as I have ever done, in those which call up images of romantic association; it was originally built by a rich Englishman,* in the style of our own villas, and was in consequence distinguished by an elegance of taste, a refinement of decoration, and a lightness and beauty of architecture, which are peculiar to buildings of this sort in England; here such a structure really appears as if raised by fairy hands; so far does it excel the ill-contrived and tawdry style, to which the natives of this country are generally accustomed: — but, alas! how has this enchanted spot been neglected! and how has the beautiful house been suffered to fall to decay! now become the property of a Portugueze family, they have evinced the most deplorable want of taste and feeling in regard to it, for at this moment it is completely a ruin—a fit residence only for the bat and the owl, or to serve as a casual shelter for the wandering goatherd and his shaggy flock, at those times when the wind is not high enough to blow down the shattered roof upon their heads. I never beheld so striking an image of desolate loveliness; and could have passed hours here in the indulgence of a reverie, mournful, yet fraught with a nameless charm that can only be comprehended by the veritable children of romance. Some of the carved doors of the best apartments (brought, at a great expense, from England), were still perfect, and some remains of the superb plates of glass in the light French windows were yet spared by the fury of the wintry storms which often rage with great violence among the surrounding mountains and woods; the hall (of Grecian elegance) once opened upon a sloping lawn of verdant turf, studded with rare shrubs and flower-beds; it has now been ploughed up, but I could still discover traces of its former designation; a splendid music-room, built in the form of a rotunda, the roof rising in a fine dome, to a considerable height, made the greatest impression upon my feelings; I tried my voice there, and was startled at the sound, which, as it died away, seemed to scare the long sleeping echoes of the place. Montserrat indeed is well calculated to afford a lesson of philosophy to every being who has learnt to think; here, in the days of its splendour, its original proprietor retired, to enjoy the luxuries of almost boundless wealth, and called around him the sons and daughters of prosperity, to enliven the retreats of a hitherto solitary Eden; now, what a change, and what a contrast!

Lisbon in the Years 1821, 1822, and 1823
Marianne Baillie
2nd Edition
Published by J. Murray, 1825

Memoirs of William Beckford : Montserrat

VISIT TO PORTUGAL AND SPAIN—MISTAKES REGARDING THE RESIDENCE THERE—BYRON'S CHILDE HAROLD—NARRATIONS OF TRAVELLERS

It was six months after his return from Switzerland, and the breaking up of his domestic establishment on his favourite shores of the Leman, that he made his voyage to the south; a visit respecting which there has been no end to exaggerations. A visit of eight or nine months has been magnified into one of years in duration, and into housebuilding and permanent establishments in a foreign country, that never had a real existence. He took with him a large household establishment, because it suited the Portuguese taste; and from twenty to thirty persons composed his train. Less would not have comported with the figure he desired to make abroad. The second visit he paid was while the contractor erected the wall round Fonthill, which was completed in about September or October, 1796. Yet Byron apostrophises Montserrat, in Childe Harold, and wrote :—

" There thou, too, Vathek ! England's wealthiest son,
Once formed thy Paradise, as not aware
When wanton wealth her mightiest deeds hath done,
Meek peace voluptuous laws was ever wont to shun.

" Here didst thou dwell, here schemes of pleasure plan,
Beneath yon mountain's ever-beauteous brow;
But now, as if a thing unblest by man,
Thy fairy dwelling is as lone as thou !
Here giant weeds a passage scarce allow
To halls deserted, portals gaping wide,
Fresh lessons to the thinking bosom, how
Vain are the pleasaunces on earth supplied;
Swept into wrecks anon by Time's ungentle tide."

This would have been striking had it been true. That Mr. Beckford, going to Portugal for eight or nine months, after his wife's death, when he was still grieving her loss, and that for such a term of residence he should build a house, was rather too extravagant. Indeed, on his first visit, he did not reside at Montserrat at all, because the owner, Mr. De Visme, a merchant, who built the factory hospital, would not let it. On his second visit to Portugal, which lasted some months more than the first, he was successful in becoming a temporary holder. It was a barbarous Gothic imitation house, built by a carpenter from Falmouth, which had been erected on the foundations of the older house of Mr. De Visme; and of this new building Mr. Beckford succeeded in becoming the tenant. The site was lovely, and surrounded by a most delightful country. He proceeded by way of Madrid, in 1794, and spent a year and better in Portugal, during which he inhabited Montserrat.

Hear another jeremiad about Montserrat:— " The princely mansion of Beckford is now mouldering in ruins. It was an exceedingly elegant and tasteful building, quite in the English style. Not a vestige of the roof remains; and within, the bramble, the thorn, and the thistle, flourish in undisturbed luxuriance. A few short years more, and a guide will have to lead the traveller to the spot where the eccentric author of ' Vathek' held his court. It is a most romantic spot, commanding, in its prospect, every beauty that Cintra and the surrounding country affords. The lofty, tree-clad mountains behind, the undulating cultivated plains before, in the distance the illimitable sea, and around groves of the finest orange and lemon trees, force an exclamation of rapture, sadly qualified by regret at the utter destruction to which this most lovely of retreats is fast hastening. On the western turret still stands the flag-staff from which the silken banner of Old England so often fluttered in the breeze; it seemed conscious of the dignity it once possessed; and, in defiance of the ruin going on around, was determined to 'spin it out, and fight to the last!'" This is from " Wilde's Travels," which show un grand talent, as the French have it, for building castles in the air.

Memoirs of William Beckford of Fonthill: Author of "Vathek" p. 277-280
Cyrus Redding
Published by C.J. Skeet, 1859

A view of Mr. de Vismes country-seat at Montserat with the distant town of Cyntra, the Quinta of D. Joao de Castro at Penha Verde

WELLS, J., fl. 1790

A view of Mr. de Vismes country-seat at Montserat with the distant town of Cyntra, the Quinta of D. Joao de Castro at Penha Verde... [Visual gráfico / drawn by Noel ; engraved by Wells. - London : 1795.

South west view of Montserat 1793

BAKER, W., fl. ca. 1790

South west view of Montserat, in Portugal

W. Baker del. ; J. Wells sculp.. - [London? : s.n.], 1793.

A view of the Quinta of Gerard de Visme..., at Bemfique, near Lisbon including the Quinta of the Marquis de Fronteira

WELLS, J., fl. 1790

A view of the Quinta of Gerard de Visme..., at Bemfique, near Lisbon including the Quinta of the Marquis de Fronteira etc. [Visual gráfico / from the original picture by Noël ; engraved by J. Wells. - London : J. Wells, 1794. - 1 gravura : água-tinta, sépia

Blason Vismes

Kazerty

De Visme Coat of Arms

Armoiries de Vismes ; d'argent, au chevron de gueules, accompagné en chef de deux étoiles d'or et en pointe d'un croissant du même.

Devise: J'ASPIRE.

VISME: Argent, a chevron Gules between two mullets in chief and a crescent in base Or

Vismes (de) Fretté, au lambel de trois pendants, chaque pendant chargé de trois fleurs-de-lis.

Vismes (de) Écartelé: aux 1 et 4, d'or, à trois bandes d'azur, au chef du second, semé de fleurs-de-lis du champ (Ponthieu); au 2, d'azur, fretté d'or, semé dans les claires-voies de fleurs-de-lis du même (Saint-Vallery); au 3, d'argent, au chevron de gueules, acc. en chef de deux étoiles d'or et en pointe d'un croissant du même (Vismes).

Chafariz de São Domingos de Benfica

Chafariz de São Domingos de Benfica, desenho, Arquivo Municipal de Lisboa, AFML - B096966
Localização: Estrada de BenficaFreguesia: São Domingos de Benfica
Data: 1784-1787

Este chafariz embora de uso público, foi executado por iniciativa do particular Gérard Devisme, burguês pombalino, comerciante de pau-brasil. Na segunda metade do século XVIII este burguês mandou construir um palácio em São Domingos de Benfica, projectado por Inácio Oliveira Bernardes. Tentou encanar para o seu palácio umas águas que tinha descoberto, mas a Junta de Administração das Fábricas do Reino e Obra das Águas Livres embargou a obra em 23 de Julho de 1784. No dia 30 desse mesmo mês os arquitectos Reinaldo dos Santos e Francisco Cangalhas inspeccionaram as ditas obras e graças ao seu parecer, a rainha autorizou, em Agosto de 1784, Devisme a fazer a obra de encanamento desde que esta passasse pelo Aqueduto, sendo necessário abrir um novo arco, cujos custos ficaram a cargo do comerciante e em troca Devisme construiu um chafariz público. Depois de concluído esteve três anos sem funcionar, até que o alvará de 27 de Março de 1787, lhe concedeu um anel de água do Aqueduto das Águas Livres. Caso faltasse a água este chafariz seria preterido em favor dos chafarizes da rede do ramal. Os sobejos iam para Devisme e depois passaram para o Marquês de Abrantes e para a Infanta D. Isabel Maria. O chafariz integra-se nos muros da quinta. É decorado com dois golfinhos e tem um tanque único com duas bicas. É rematado por um obelisco ladeado por duas urnas.

Bibliografia

ANDRADE, José Sérgio Veloso de - Memória sobre chafarizes, bicas, fontes, e poços públicos de Lisboa, Belém, e muitos logares do termo. Lisboa : Imprensa Silviana, 1851.

CAETANO, Joaquim Oliveira - Chafarizes de Lisboa. Sacavém : Distri – Editora. 1991.ISBN: 972-655-092-0.

FLORES, Alexandre M. - Chafarizes de Lisboa. Lisboa : Inapa. 1999. ISBN: 972-8387-57-1.

PROENÇA, Raúl - Guia de Portugal. 2.ª edição. Lisboa : Fundação Calouste Gulbenkian, 1979.

A view of the Quinta of Gerard de Visme

WELLS, J., fl. 1790

A view of the Quinta of Gerard de Visme..., at Bemfique, near Lisbon including the farm house, etc. from the original picture by Noël ; engraved by J. Wells. - London : J. Wells, 1794.

Parque de Monserrate, Sintra

For a guide to the gardens see post:
Uma Pequena Guia de Monserrate

Rosa multiflora

Rosa multiflora

Species introduced to Portugal where it has become naturalised. Originally from Japan the single flowered form was introduced to France around 1860 (Quest Ritson Climbing Roses p. 93) and probably arrived in Portugal as a rootstock for other roses. A rose known as "rosa multiflora" was widely grown in the Azores by 1841 (A Winter in the Azores and a Summer at the Baths of the Furnas Joseph Bullar, 1841 p. 7).

At Monserrate it is found climbing trees and growing as a free standing bush. Photographed here in the former Rose Garden.

Rosa multiflora Thunb.

Flora Japonica, . . . 214. 1784.

Jardin d'Essai d'El Hamma

Jardin d'Essai d'El Hamma, un muséum de la nature au coeur d'Alger
Par AFP, publié le 12/05/2009 à 08:53 - mis à jour le 12/05/2009 à 08:55

ALGER - Un jardin français, un autre anglais, des arbres centenaires, plus de 25 espèces de palmiers, un rosier géant: le Jardin d'Essai d'El Hamma à Alger est un véritable muséum de la nature, avec ses 2.500 espèces végétales, en plein coeur de la capitale algérienne.ALGER - Un jardin français, un autre anglais, des arbres centenaires, plus de 25 espèces de palmiers, un rosier géant: le Jardin d'Essai d'El Hamma à Alger est un véritable muséum de la nature, avec ses 2.500 espèces végétales, en plein coeur de la capitale algérienne.

AFP/Fayez Nureldine

Le jardin d'Essai d'El Hamma à Alger, le 10 mai 2009
Rouvert début mai après 12 ans de fermeture dont cinq consacrés à des travaux de restauration, ce jardin unique en Algérie et qui fut considéré comme l'un des plus beaux au monde, a été crée en 1832, deux ans après le début de l'invasion de l'Algérie par les troupes coloniales françaises.
S'étendant sur 32 hectares en face de la baie d'Alger, à quelques km du centre-ville, il est constitué notamment d'un jardin classique français, d'un autre exotique de type anglais, d'un zoo, d'une école d'horticulture, d'un espace réservé à l'expérimentation.

"Ce jardin botanique est un véritable muséum de la nature. Nous avons des arbres qui ont plus de 150 ans d'âge et des végétaux rares et uniques de toute la planète", explique à l'AFP son directeur Abderrezaq Ziriat.

Il cite un rosier centenaire de 30 m de haut, le palmier Latanier à deux fourches, le Timbo, un arbre majestueux qui peut atteindre plus de 30 m de hauteur et au bois très dur, le Camphrier, le Bambou. Ou encore le Ginkgo, l'un des arbres qui peuvent supporter les aléas climatiques les plus durs durant des siècles, selon M. Ziriat.

"Le Jardin d'Essai était l'un des plus beaux au monde, mais la plupart des arbres sont centenaires, les premiers ayant été plantés en 1848. Maintenant, il faut rajeunir les plantations" et permettre une spécialisation dans la flore locale qui est le rôle des jardins botaniques, poursuit M. Ziriak.

AFP/Fayez Nureldine
Une employée du Jardin d'Essai d'El Hamma à Alger s'occupe d'un rosier, le 10 mai 2009

"Maintenant que la réhabilitation physique est terminée, il faut qu'il revienne à son niveau d'il y a 50 ans", affirme-t-il encore.

Depuis sa réouverture au public, ce jardin reçoit quotidiennement des milliers de visiteurs, dans une capitale qui étouffe sous le poids d'une urbanisation anarchique et du manque d'espaces de détente et de loisirs.

Chaque jour, ces visiteurs, en majorité des familles mais aussi de jeunes couples, s'y rendent pour se promener dans les allées des Platanes, des Bambous, des Dracaena, ou contempler de gigantesques palmiers originaires du monde entier.

Les premiers jours de la réouverture du Jardin au public n'ont pas été de tout repos. En dépit de la présence d'une centaine centaine d'agents de sécurité et de policiers en faction affectés à la surveillance des lieux, M. Ziriat a relevé l'indiscipline de certains visiteurs.

"Les gens ne font pas de différences entre un jardin public et un jardin botanique. Certains montent sur les arbres, d'autres piétinent le gazon et la végétation", dit-il.

"Dans un jardin botanique, toute végétation doit être sauvegardée et protégée. Rien ne doit être endommagé ou piétiné".

Plus loin, un couple a visiblement fort à faire pour faire respecter par leurs enfants les panneaux d'interdiction de marcher sur les pelouses ou de grimper aux arbres.

Mais M. Ziriat compte axer son travail sur l'éducation des enfants à la préservation de la nature de l'environnement, en créant une école spécialisée au sein du jardin et en organisant des visites guidées pour les enfants scolarisés.

Rhododendron 'Shilsonii'

barbatum x thomsonii

Flowers blood-red, foliage dark green, 4.5 x 2.75 ins

A tall shrub to 15 ft. or so. April.

From W. J. Bean (8th edition) Vol. III p.893
The cross was first made by Richard Gill while he was head gardener to Henry Shilson of Tremough, Cornwall, and received an Award of Merit when shown from there in 1900. The Gill cross had the reputation of being hard to grow well, but the cross was remade by Sir Edmund Loder at Leonardslee in Sussex, with better results, and probably in other gardens too. At any rate, what is now grown as 'Shilsonii' is a good grower, quite hardy, taking after R. thomsonii in its foliage and the form of its flowers, but the latter are of a purer red than in R. thomsonii.

Rhododendron 'Sir Charles Lemon'

General aspect and origins - Rhododendron 'Sir Charles Lemon' is certainly a cross between R. arboreum ssp. cinnamomeum × R. campanulatum ssp. campanulatum.It is often considered as a R. arboreum variety, but it is an interspecific hybrid, R. arboreum being the likely motherplant.This hybrid was grown by Sir Charles Lemon from seeds previously collected by Joseph Hooker, during a trip in India, from 1849 to 1851. This evergreen shrub or small tree can reach up to 20 ft (6 m) tall and more. It has a less conical shape than that of R.arboreum.'Sir Charles Lemon' is relatively widely grown.

Leaves - Leaves of 'Sir Charles Lemon' are evergreen, larger than these of R. arboreum. The lower side of the leaves is brown-green. Young leaves are white-green.

Flowers - 'Sir Charles Lemon' has conical flower buds, unlike those of R.arboreum, which are almost globose. Flowers are campanulate and white, with some violet traces.

http://coolexotics.com/plant-451.html

From "The History of Rhododendrons"

The Hooker Family
Meanwhile, the impetus for the introduction of rhododendrons passed to the Hooker family, also of Exeter origin. In 1820, at the age of thirty-five, on the recommendation of Sir Joseph Banks, William Jackson Hooker was appointed Professor of Botany at Glasgow University, where he remained until 1841. He was largely responsible for the development of the Botanical Garden there. William Hooker, was knighted in 1836 and five years later was appointed Director of Kew.
In 1839, his eldest son, Dr. Joseph Dalton Hooker, by then aged twenty- two, sailed in H.M.S. Erebus as assistant surgeon and botanist with Captain Ross' Antarctic expedition. The Ross expedition returned in September 1843.
Joseph Hooker, while continuing to be a naval officer, worked at Kew for the next five years after which, through the patronage of the First Lord of the Admiralty, Lord Auckland, he left for India traveling in the same ship as the new Governor General, Lord Dalhousie. His Kew friend, Hugh Falconer, traveled out in the same party, on his way to take charge of the Saharanpur Botanic Garden. Later Joseph Hooker named three rhododendron species which he collected after these gentlemen: Rhododendron aucklandii (now known as R. griffithianum), R. dalhousiae (after Lady Dalhousie) and R. falconeri.
From Calcutta, Joseph Hooker travelled north to Sikkim and spent two years there exploring in the hills, based in Darjeeling where his host was Brian Hodgson, the British Resident in Nepal. Another friend was Dr. Archibald Campbell, the Superintendent of Darjeeling and Political Agent, Sikkim. Their help to him is recalled in the naming of Rhododendron hodgsonii, Magnolia campbellii and Rhododendron campbelliae (the latter after Mrs.. Campbell).
Dr. Thomas Thomson, an old college friend from Glasgow days, was then employed by the East India Company, and he accompanied Hooker on tours in the Khasia Hills, in Assam and in East Bengal. He is commemorated by R.. thomsonii. Thomson collaborated with Joseph Hooker in the production of a Flora Indica. He later succeeded Dr. Wal- lich as Superintendent of the Calcutta Botanic Garden, about the same time as Joseph Hooker succeeded his father as Director of Kew.
Wallich had sent seed of R. arboreum and introduced R. campanulatum from Nepal in 1825. The closely related R. wallichii was named after him by Hooker.
Joseph Hooker's expedition is immortalised in his Rhododendrons of the Sikkim Himalaya published in three parts between 1849 and 1851, with thirty coloured plates, edited by Hooker's father. Before 1848, only thirty-three species of rhododendron were in cultivation; Hooker collected, sketched and described forty-three species of which thirty-six are still recognised as distinct.
Seed from his collections was grown on at Kew and seedlings were sent to friends in the west of Scotland, Wales and southwest England to tryout, notably to the Shilson family at Tremough near Penryn, to Robert Were Fox at Penjerrick and to Sir Charles lemon at Carclew. These formed the basis for the good quality hybrids that were made in Cornwall in the latter part of the 19th century, such as 'Shilsonii', 'Beauty of Tremough','Penjerrick','Barciayi' [Barclayi] and 'Cornish Cross'. 'Sir Charles lemon' is usually regarded as a natural hybrid of R. arboreum and R. campanulatum.

Vancouver Rhododendron Society
http://www.rhodo.citymax.com/page/page/627471.htm
Author: Walter Magor was a member of the ' Royal Horticultural Society and served on the editorial board of the RHS Rhododendron Group. He frequently contributed articles to the RHS Rhododendron Group's annual bulletin and other publications. This article first appeared in the Cornish Garden Journal .

Rhododendron altaclerense (Botanical Register 1831)

Edward's Botanical Register

London : James Ridgeway, 1829-1847

Vol. 17 (1831)
Plate 1414

RHODODENDRON* Alta-clerense.
The Highclere Rhdoodendron.
DECANDRIA MONOGYNIA.
Nat. ord. ERICEAE Juss. (Introduction to the natural system of Botany,
p. 182.)
RHODODENDRON.-Suprà, vol. 1. fol. 37.

GARDEN VARIETY.
We have on several occasions lately presented our
readers with figures of hybrid Azaleas of great beauty
raised at Highclere, the seat of the Earl of Caernarvon.
Lovely as those were, their ornamental character is almost
as nothing compared with the subject of this account, in
which every thing of beauty that a plant can possess seems
collected, fragrance alone being wanting. With a clear
transparent crimson colour, rendered still more bright by
a few distinct spots of a darker hue, are combined a fine
bold outline, a great breadth of surface, and the utmost
symmetry; while the deep rich green of the magnificent
foliage forms a back-ground in the most perfect harmony
with the lively tints of the blossoms.

The history of the creation of this superb plant deserves
to be particularly described, as it not only shews how great
the power of man is over nature, but holds out to us a
prospect of the most gratifying kind in regard to the future
gayness of our Gardens.

Rhododendron arboreum is, as is well known, an Indian

* Well may this be called the Tree of Roses (greek : a rose, and greek, a
tree), if we picture to ourselves a plant, twenty or thirty feet high, covered
with blossoms of such lively colours as those represented m the accompanying
figure. Alta-Clera is the name of Highclere in Domesday Book, and in
ancient writings.

plant, bearing blossoms of an intense carmine, and having
a stature equal to that of a small tree, but not hardy enough
to live in the open air in this country, and also less beautiful
than might be anticipated from the rich colour of its
flowers, in consequence of the small size of its bunches.
Some years ago it occurred to Lord Caernarvon, that if a
hybrid variety could be obtained between this and some
one of the hardy American species, the result would be a
more robust constitution on the one hand, and a great brilliancy
of colouring on the other; and also that if the pollen
of R. arboreum could be employed, the stature of the
hybrid would also be increased.

An opportunity of ascertaining the justness of these
expectations having occurred, the experiment was tried in
the manner detailed in the following letter from Mr. Gowen.
How completely Lord Caernarvon's anticipations were
realised, is shewn by the same account, and by the accompanying
figure. To the hardiness of R. catawbiense is
added the arborescent habit and rich colours of R. arboreum,
while the contracted clusters of the latter are exchanged
for the spreading bunches of the former.

Highclere, May 13, 1831.

"MY DEAR SIR,

"You desire to have the history of the lovely Rhododendrons
of which I sent you flowers a short time ago. They are
intermediate between the magnificent Rhododendron arboreum of
Nipal and a seedling Rhododendron from R. catawbiense, which had
been fertilised by the pollen of Rhododendron ponticum. From the
period of the introduction of Rhododendron arboreum into the
Highclere Garden by my friend Dr. Wallich, and more particularly
since its inability to withstand the rigour of this climate had been
ascertained, Lord Caernarvon became desirous of producing a cross
breed between it and the hardy species. We were not fortunate in
bringing Rhododendron arboreum into bloom so early as we wished.
Being on a visit at the Grange in the autumn of 1825, I observed a
specimen, which had been planted out in Mr. Baring's magnificent
Conservatory, with flower-buds upon it. Mrs. Baring was so kind
as to place one of the umbels at my disposal when it should come to
flower. Three plants of hardy Rhododendrons were selected early in
the winter, and removed from out-borders into boxes in readiness;
and early in the spring of 1826, I received from the Gardener at the
Grange a fine umbel of the flowers of Rhododendron arboreum in a
tin case. Their pollen was used in fertilising the flowers of the hardy
species which, by previous concert, had been brought into contemporaneous
bloom. The result was the production of a number of capsules

containing good seed, from which were raised above 1800
plants, which have been extensively distributed to Nurseries and
private Gardens both in England and Scotland. The plants retained
by Lord Caernarvon shewed flower-buds in small quantity late last
autumn. Some of the most perfect were removed into pots early in
the present season from the shrubberies, and, being placed under
glass in a cool conservatory, have flowered. Upon their beauty I
need not dilate; you have seen specimens, and are in a condition to
form your own opinion. The plants are quite hardy, having never
been damaged in the slightest degree by the winters of this climate;
but they are very excitable, shoot very early, and will therefore in
early springs be liable to be injured by late frosts. They make
extremely vigorous growth, and, judging from the analogy which I
have observed to prevail in hybrid productions, I am inclined to believe
that they will attain to the height of 20 feet and upwards. Their
foliage is very ornamental.

" Believe me, my dear Sir,
" Very truly yours,
" J. R. GOWEN."

There are in the Gardens other Rhododendrons having
a somewhat similar origin, one of which has been figured
lately by Mr. Sweet, under the name of R. Smithii; but
they cannot be compared for beauty with the truly noble
R. Alta-clerense.

J.L. [John Lindley]

Rhododendron altaclerense

Curtis's Botanical Magazine Vol. 42, Nº3423 (1835)

RHODODENDRON ARBOREUM (hybridum), ALTA-CLERENSE.

High-clere hybrid var. of the TREE RHODODENDRON.

Class and Order.

DECANDRIA MONOGYNIA.

( Nat. Ord.-ERICEAE)

Generic Character.

Cal. 5-partitus. Cor. infundibuliformis, 5-loba. Stam. 5-10, declinata: antheris apice biporosis. Capsula 5-locularis, 5-valvis, ab apice dehiscens, valvaum marginibus inflexis dissepimenta formantibus: Receptaculum centrale, 5-angulare. Semina membrana involuta.

(For Specific Character and Synonyms of the Species, see tab. 3290.)

RHODODENDRON alta-clerense. Lindl. Bot. Reg. t. 1414.

For this truly splendid ornament of our gardens, it seems we are indebted to Lord CAERNARVON, who suggested the idea, as stated in the Bot. Register, that "if a hybrid variety could be obtained between RHODODENDRON arboreum and some one of the hardy American species, the result would be a more robust constitution on the one hand, and a greater brilliancy of colour on the other; and also, that if the pollen of R. arboreum could be employed, the stature of the hybrid would also be increased." Such has been the consequence of numerous experiments that have since been tried by various persons who have fertilized the pistil of RHODODENDRON Ponticum, or some of the equally hardy American species with the pollen of R. arboreum, and our shrubberies and open borders can now boast of these favourite and highly ornamental shrubs, equally hardy with the R. ponticum, equally splendid in regard to the size and colour of the flowers with R. arboreum, and blossoming earlier by nearly six weeks than our common hardy sorts. The specimen here figured was in perfection in the Glasgow Botanic Garden the latter end of April, notwithstanding that the season was more unpropitious than usual. The underside of the leaves presents more of the rusty hue of the East Indian parent than the ALTA-CLERENSE of the Bot.Register.

Primary Crosses of Rhododendron arboreum

From W. J. Bean (fourth edition) 1925
p. 342

Rhododendron Altaclerense, Lindley (Bot Mag. , 3423)
Raised at Highclere, the seat of the Earl of Carnarvon in Berkshire, by crossing arboreum with ponticum ; it has beautiful, deep rosy red flowers in large trusses 6 ins through.

Very similar to it is:

Rhododendron Russellianum, Sweet, from catawbiense crossed with arboreum, but of a more crimson shade. It is as richly coloured as all but the richest forms of arboreum. Flowers in April.

For other arboreum crosses, see Nobleanum, pulcherrimum, and venustum. SMITHII with rich red flowers is arboreum+ ponticum ; and CUNNINGHAMI is arboreum+maximum.

RHODODENDRON CAMPYLOCARPUM

Curtis's Botanical Magazine, table 4968, vol. 81, (1857)

From the collection of Messrs. Standish and Noble, Bagshot Nursery, where it flowered in April of the past year (1856) in a cool frame. It is a native of rocky valleys and open spurs in the mountains of Sikkim-Himalaya, elevation 11-14,000 feet above the level of the sea, and there abundant. At such an elevation it is natural to expect that the plant would be hardy in the open air in Britain; and so this and other such Himalayan Rhododendrons are: but, unfortunately, the flowering season is so early that we cannot hope to see them come to perfection without the protection of a frame or cool greenhouse, admitting plenty of air when the weather is mild. Thus treated, this species will be found to deserve the praises it has received from Dr. Hooker in the following description.

DESCR. "A small bush six feet high, rounded in form, of a bright cheerful green hue; and which, when loaded with its iflorescence of surpassing delicacy and grace, claims precedence over its more gaudy congeners, and has always been regarded by me as the most charming of the Sikkim Rhododendrons. The plant exhales a grateful honeyed flavour from its lovely bells, and a resinous sweet odour from the stipitate glands of the petioles, pedicels, calyx, and capsules. Leaves on slender pelioles, three-fourths of an inch long, coriaceous, but not thick in the texture, two or three and a half inches long, one and three-quarters to two inches broad, cordate at the base, rounded and mucronate at the apex; in all characters, except the evanescent, glandular pubescence, and spherical buds, undistinguishable from Rhododendron Thomsoni. Flowers horizontal and nodding. Corolla truly campanulate, delicate in texture, tinged of a sulphur hue and always spotless, nearly two inches long, broader across the lobes, which are finely veined. The pedicels of the capsules radiate horizontally from the apices of the ramuli, and the capsules curve upwards with a semicircular arc; they are about an inch long, always loosely covered with stipitate glands."-J. D. Hook.in Rhod. of Sik. Himal.

Fig. 1. Stamen. 2. Calyx and pistil. 3. Transverse section of ovary :-magnified. 4. Capsule:-nat. size.

FEBRUARY 1ST, 1857.

Rhododendron campylocarpum Hook.f.

Rhododendron campylocarpum Hook.f. -- Rhod. Sikkim-Himal. t. 30.

Curtis's Botanical magazine table 4968

Rhododendron Thomsoni

Curtis's Botanical Magazine 4997 Vol. LXXXIII (1857)

TAB. 4997.
RHODODENDRON THOMSONI.
Dr. Thomson's Rhododendron.
Nat. Ord. ERICEAE.--DECANDRIA MONOGYNIA.

Gen. Char. (Vide supra, TAB. 4336.)

RHODODENDRON Thomsoni; frutex cortice pallide papyraceo, foliis in ramos terminiales coriaceis glaberrimis orbiculari-ellipticis obtusissimis apiculatis basicordatis supra laete virentibus subtus glaucescentibus margine subrecurvo, petiolo gracili, corymbis plurifloris, pedunculis longitudine petiolorum, flo-ribus radiatim patentibus cernuisve, calyce amplo cylindraceo-cyathiformibasi retuso inrequaliter lobato, lobis erectis obtusissimis, corolla intense sanguinea coriaceo-nitida, tubo elongato-campanuliformi, limbi lobis 5 patenti-subrecurvis profunde emarginatis superioribus intus maculatis, staminibus 10, filamentis nudis, ovario conico-cylindraceo glaberrimo 6-10-loculari,stylo gracili, capsula calyce cylindraceo persistente , tecta. Hook.fil.

RHODODENDRON Thomsoni. Hook.fil. Rhod. Sik.-Himal. t. 12, et in Journ. Hort. Soc. of London, p. 77.

B, Candelabrum; floribus pallidioribus, calycis brevioris marginibus ovariisque glanduloso-pilosis.

RHODODENDRON Candelabrum. Hook.fil. Rhod. Sik.-Him. t. 29.

Native of the inner and outer ridges of the mountains of Sikkim-Himalaya, abundant at elevations varying from eleven to thirteen thousand feet. Mr. Methven, of the Stanwell Nur-series, Bonnington Road, Edinburgh, was so fortunate as to flower this charming species in April of the present year (1857), and was so good as to transmit the specimen here figured. From the elevation at which this plant is found above the sea-level, it may be justly esteemed a hardy plant; but it must be understood that except we have the power of retarding the blossoms, we can only look for their proper development in unusually favourable seasons, save with the protection of a frame or cool greenhouse. The calyx affords a very distinct feature in this species, and although in the Rhododendron Candlabrum of Dr. Hooker it is much shorter than in the present plant, it has nevertheless the same general form and character, and that author has with propriety considered the two as specifically the same. The plant is wholly destitute of the minute appressed scales so copious in many kinds of Rhododendron.

DESCR. Dr. Hooker gives the following particulars of this species from native specimens :-" A shrub six to ten feet, or in damp woods, fifteen feet, high, but in the latter case spare and woody. Lower branches stout, a foot in diameter; upper slender,leafy, principally at the extremities. Leaves two to three inches long, very broad, much resembling those of R. campylocarpum (Tab. Nostr. 4968), only that in the latter the leaf-stalks are often glandular, here never. The texture of the leaves is coriaceous, but not very thick; the colour full green, below subglabrous, everywhere quite glabrous. Flowers in a head of six to eight together, from the ends of the short branches among the leaves, on stalks an inch or more long, which radiate as it were from a centre, spreading horizontally or curling downwards.Corolla remarkable from its almost unrivalled deep blood-colour and glossy surface, yielding only in those respects to R. fulgens, deeper-coloured than in R. arboreum; the tube elongated, often vertically compressed, two inches long; the limb large, spreading, five-lobed, the lobes notched, upper ones spotted within. This species is perfectly inodorous. In the base of the corolla is secreted much honey, which is not considered poisonous, like that yielded by R. Dalhousie and R. argenteum. The two latter species are said to render deleterious the wild honey which is collected during their flowering season.

Fig. 1. Calyx, including the pistil. 2. Stamen. 3. Ovary. 4. Transversesection of the same. 5. Ovary included in the persistent calyx:-nat. size.

AUGUST 1ST, 1857.

Rhododendron candelabrum Hook.f.

Rhododendron candelabrum Hook.f. -- Rhod. Sikkim-Himal. t. 29.

The plant from which the accompanying plate and description are taken, was found in thick Pine-woods near Lachen village, before I was well acquainted with the R. Thomsoni (Tab. XII.), of which I fear it is only a pale-flowered variety, found growing at a lower elevation than that species usually inhabits, flowering earlier and in a shady protected situation. The much shorter calyx (of the same peculiar character, however), its glandular margin and ovarium, are the only further distinctions I have been able to detect between them, and they are quite unimportant.

Rhododendron camelliaeflorum Hook.f.

Rhododendron camelliaeflorum Hook.f. -- Rhod. Sikkim-Himal. t. 28.

Bot. Mag. 4932 vol. XXXII (1856)

"It has been distributed in gardens as Rhododendron theaeflorum"

W. J. Bean 8th ed. Vol III p. 618

"One of the least ornamental and most difficult of rhododendrons."

Rhododendron wightii Hook.f.

Rhododendron wightii Hook.f. -- Rhod. Sikkim-Himal. t. 27.

This exceedingly handsome and abundant species replaces the R. Hodgsoni in ascending the mountains, and is the most prevalent species at 12 and 13,000 feet, conspicuous at all seasons for the large foliage, of a rusty cinnamon-colour underneath, and the viscid buds. It bears the name of a distinguished Indian botanist and personal friend, to whose zeal and liberality the botanists of India are no less publicly, than I am personally, indebted for encouragement and the most material aid in our common pursuits. The 'Icones Plantarum Indian Orientalis'--an excellent work in all respects,and indispensable to a knowledge of Indian plants -is a remarkable instance of the perfection to which botanical illustrations can be brought by indomitable perseverance under the most discouraging circumstances. The first plates of that work are equal to any produced at the era of their publication in India; the latter will compete with the best outline lithographs of Europe.

Rhododendron nivale Hook.f. & Rhododendron virgatum Hook.f.

Rhododendron virgatum Hook.f.

Rhod. Sikkim-Himal. t. 26. A

Syn. Rhododendron oleifolium Franch.

Bulletin de la Société Botanique de France 33: 235-236. 1886.

Rhododendron nivale Hook.f.

Rhod. Sikkim-Himal. t. 26. B

Rhododendron fulgens Hook.f.

Rhododendron fulgens Hook.f. -- Rhod. Sikkim-Himal. t. 25.

Rhododendron ciliatum Hook. f.

Curtis's Botanical Magazine 4648 Vol. LXXVIII (1852)

Rhododendron ciliatum. Hook. fil. Rhod. of Sikkim-Himal. p. 26. t. 24.
S. floribus majoribus, corollis albis roseo-tinctis. (TAB. Nostr. 4648.)

It is scarcely two years since the seeds of this Rhododendron were received from Dr. Hooker, and already (March 7, 1852) six plants of it have produced flowers while only seven inches high, and many others are showing blossoms. Their flowering has given us peculiar pleasure, as the first of the Sikkim-Himalayan Rhododendrons which have done so ; and on another account. From more than one quarter hints have been thrown out that the author of the work above cited has used some freedom in going beyond nature in the size and colouring of the flowers. Such gratuitous statements, from very incompetent judges, are contradicted by the first species that has blossomed ; for assuredly our cultivated R. ciliatum far excels in size of the corolla, and delicacy of tint, Dr. Hooker's original figure. Even were the reverse the case, it would be no proof of any inaccuracy in Dr. Hooker's figures, for no intelligent traveller, in Sikkim can fail to observe how liable the flowers of all the species of Rhododendron are to vary in size and colour (nor are the leaves more constant) ; in the present instance the difference is so great, though there cannot be a question of the identity of species, that we feel ourselves, as it were, compelled to make it a variety. The corollas are nearly, if not quite, double the size of the native plant as seen by Dr. Hooker, and instead of being of a uniform lilac-purple colour, they are of the most delicate white, tinged with red-rose colour. In all other respects the two plants perfectly agree. It is a native of wet rocky places (rarely in woods) of Sikkim-Himalaya, in the Lachen and Lachoong valleys ; elevation 9—10,000 feet. It may be expected to be hardy therefore ; and, indeed, we may observe, that young plants of nearly all our species from Sikkim-Himalaya have passed this winter in the open air, simply surrounded by a bank of earth a foot and a half high. R. Dalhousiae alone has failed in such a situation, and in many cases we know that it has equally failed under glass. R. ciliatum has been kept in a cool greenhouse, and has certainly the merit of being a ready flowerer, and that at a very early age.

Descr. Even in its native country this species does not seem to attain a height of more than two feet, growing in clumps, and yielding a faintly resinous and agreeable odour. The whole plant, but especially the younger shoots, are more or less pilose with long ferruginous hairs. The leaves, two to three inches long, eventually become glabrous on the upper surface ; beneath they are clothed with minute ferruginous scales. Flowers terminal, arising from a scaly imbricated bud. Peduncles rather stout, very villous. Calyx large, almost foliaceous, cut nearly to the base into five almost rounded, spreading, obtuse lobes, villous on the outside. Corolla campanulate, but with the tube subinfundibuliform ; very large in proportion to the leaves, in its native country usually of a uniform lilac-purple : with us of the most delicate white, tinged with as delicate a rose-colour, especially at the back of each lobe. Stamens included ; filaments hairy at the base ; anthers rather small, purple. Ovary oblong, contracted at the apex. Style declined, longer than the stamens. Stigma five-lobed, peltate.
Fig. 1. Stamen. 2. Calyx and pistil. 3. Section of ovary :—magnified. 4. Fruit :—natural size.

W. J. Bean 8th ed. Vol. III p. 631
Native of the Himalaya from E. Nepal eastward; discovered by J. D. Hooker in Sikkim and introduced by him in 1850. Hooker found it in valleys of the interior at 9,000 t0 10,000 ft, 'growing in clumps 2ft high, generally in moist rocky places'. It flowered at Kew in 1852, and was figured in the Botanical Magazine the same year with the varietal epithet roseo-album. The explanation for this quite superfluous addition is that Hooker never saw the species in full flower and sent home to his father at Kew a colour sketch made apparently from a truss in which the flowers had aged to a deep purplish pink, as shown in the plate in Rhododendrons of the Sikkim Himalaya, which was drawn and coloured from his sketch and herbarium specimens.

Rhododendron ciliatum Hook.f.

Rhododendron ciliatum Hook.f. -- Rhod. Sikkim-Himal. t. 24.

The Rhododendrons of Sikkim-Himalaya 3: , pl. 24. 1851.

Bot. Mag. tt. 4648 & 7686

Rhododendron elaeagnoides Hook.f.

Rhododendron salignum Hook.f. -- Rhod. Sikkim-Himal. Consp. 6. t. 23 A

Rhododendron elaeagnoides Hook.f. -- Rhod. Sikkim-Himal. 2. t. 23 B.

Rhododendron aeruginosum Hook.f.

Rhododendron aeruginosum Hook.f. -- Rhod. Sikkim-Himal. t. 22.

accepted name:

Rhododendron campanulatum subsp. aeruginosum (Hook. f.) D.F. Chamb.

Notes from the Royal Botanic Garden, Edinburgh 37(2): 329. 1979.

W.J. Bean 8th edition Vol. III p. 619 "it is cultivated only for the beauty of its young foliage"

Rhododendron edgeworthii

http://www.rhododendron.org/descriptionS_new.asp?ID=59

Rhododendron edgeworthii Hook.f.

Rhododendron edgeworthii Hook.f. -- Rhod. Sikkim-Himal. 2. t. 21.

Rhododendron ser. Edgeworthia Hutch.
The Species of Rhododendron 228. 1930.

Botanical Magazine t. 4936

Rhododendron Setosum, Wall.

Rhododendron Setosum, Wall. -- Rhod. Sikkim-Himal. t. 20.

Rhododendron setosum D. Don
Memoirs of the Wernerian Natural History Society 3: 408-409. 1821.

Curtis's Botanical Magazine t. 8523

Rhododendron triflorum Hook.f.

Rhododendron triflorum Hook.f. -- Rhod. Sikkim-Himal. t. 19.

The Rhododendrons of Sikkim-Himalaya 2: , pl. 19. 1851.

Rhododendron maddeni Hook.f.

Rhododendron maddeni Hook.f. -- Rhod. Sikkim-Himal. t. 18.

Rhododendron maddenii Hook. f.

Published In: The Rhododendrons of Sikkim-Himalaya 2: , pl. 18. 1851.

Annotation: as "maddeni"

Of this species the foliage and the flowers are faintly odorous. Very different as this may appear at first sight from R. cinnabarinum (Tab. VII. of this work), it clearly belongs to the same natural group along with R. Roylei. The very large white flowers, the numerous stamens, and ten-celled fruit abundantly distinguish it.

I do myself the pleasure to name this truly superb plant in compliment to Major Madden of the Bengal Civil Service, a good and accomplished botanist, to whose learned memoirs on the plants of the temperate and tropical zones of North-west Himalaya, the reader may be referred for an excellent account of the vegetation of those regions. The same gentleman's paper on the Conifere of the north of India may be quoted as a model of its kind.

Rhododendron glaucum Hook.f.

Rhododendron glaucum Hook.f. -- Rhod. Sikkim-Himal. t. 17.

The Rhododendrons of Sikkim-Himalaya , t. 11-30. 1851.
Earlier:
Rhododendron glaucum Sweet 1830.
Correct:
Rhododendron glaucophyllum Rehder Journal of the Arnold Arboretum 26: 73. 1945.

Rhododendron lanatum Hook.f.

Rhododendron lanatum Hook.f. -- Rhod. Sikkim-Himal. t. 16.

As Farpas

Com o caminho de ferro, que presentemente a prende à capital por um breve e cómodo passeio, Sintra mudou muito de aspecto. Ao domingo, principalmente, a multidão trazida pelos comboios de recreio dá-lhe um ar popular de festa suburbana no Beato, nas Amoreiras ou no Campo Grande.À noite, porém, com a partida do último trem, a vila esvazia-se outra vez. Ao quente burburinho do povo, ao orneio dos burros, às risadas das espanholas, sucede-se o silêncio cavo do vale. A névoa, que lentamente desce da serra., limpa o ambiente da poeira impregnada das exalações da cerveja, do vinho de Colares e do peixe frito. E quando a lua desponta por cima dos castanheiros, esse astro tantas vezes invocado pelo velho lirismo da localidade, não hesitaria em reconhecer na sua decantada serra, no alcantilado relevo da penedia, nas ameias do castelo dos Mouros, na densa espessura dos arvoredos, no murmúrio da água por entre os musgos, no cheiro das giestas húmidas de orvalho, o éden de Childe Harold.Na segunda-feira pela manhã constata-se que o povo, apesar de tudo quanto as classes cultas receavam da capacidade do seu contacto, não levou consigo nada da antiga Sintra. Cá ficou, onde estava, o real paço, com as suas lindas janelas de dois arcos, manuelinas, em troncos podados; a sua bela colecção de azulejos de tipo árabe, de tipo flamengo e de tipo italiano; o seu cárcere de Afonso VI, a sua sala dos cisnes e a sua sala das pêgas, cuja lenda, Garrett tão encantadoramente narrou nas lindas trovas.Era uma pega no paço Que El-Rei tomara caçando...Na Regaleira os frondosos castanheiros continuam a ensombrar o mais lindo terraço que tem a serra.Em Seteais não deixou de crescer a erva no terreiro de correr touros e de jogar as canas no tempo do marquês de Marialva, e pelo arco triunfal, no pedantesco estilo pombalino, entra-se agora como outrora para a célebre quinta tão melancolicamente devastada nas alamedas, nos lagos, nos mármores das estátuas e nos arabescos de murta dos seus velhos jardins ingleses.Na Penha-Verde permanece o Monte das Alvíssaras com as árvores estéreis de D. João de Castro e as ermidas revestidas dos lindos embrechados do século XVI.

Na serra, entre o convento dos Capuchos e o castelo dos Mouros, o palácio da Pena, espera, insensível, que a licitação em hasta pública ou o acordo amigável entre os herdeiros de D. Fernando decida a quem aquele senhorio tem de pertencer.A propriedade de Monserrate, tão célebre pelas festas principescos que no principio do século aí deu William Beckford, como pelo quási lúgubre encerro em que hoje a sequestra da convivência social o Sr. Frank Cook, Visconde de Monserrate, seu actual possuidor, vai-se alastrando cada vez mais, ameaçando absorver tudo, porque o Sr. Cook embirra de avistar das suas janelas uma copa de pomar, um muro de quinta, ou um telhado de casa, a que ele não possa mandar dar pelo seu arquitecto, pelo seu decorador ou pelo seu jardineiro, a linha e a cor mais adequada para pôr a paisagem circunstante em harmonia com os princípios da sua estética ou com os caprichos do seu temperamento.Nos prados de luzerna da Penha-Longa continuam a pastar tranquilos os carneiros e as vacas de luxo, que dão a esta quinta, com os seus estábulos e com as suas oficinas rurais, o grande ar de uma granja inglesa.Finalmente, na fonte da Sabuga vai correndo sempre, férrea e desnevada, a cristalina água da serra. Fabricam-se como antigamente as queijadas da Sapa, tão gratas ao paladar de Lorde Byron. Abunda o bom leite, a manteiga fresca, as ameixas, os pêssegos, os vinhos palhetes de Colares, as rosas de D. Maria e os amarantos de Bernardim Ribeiro. Na frescura das velhas matas, no doce murmúrio das águas correntes, na suavidade da luz coada pela verdura das alamedas, durante os lentos passeios solitários sobre o solo fofo de folhagem, por entre as moitas dos fetos e das hortênsias, uma vaga palpitação de saudade parece errar com o perfume da flor das madre-silvas e da seiva dos castanheiros, como se à prosaica vilegiatura dos nossos dias alguma coisa se mesclasse dos poéticos ócios da corte de D. João II e de D. Manuel, envolvendo na azulada neblina da montanha os vagos e difusos fantasmas brancos das infantas D. Maria e D. Beatriz, das suas damas e dos seus artistas, de Paula Vicente, de Luísa Sigeia, de Bernardim Ribeiro, de Gil Vicente, de Garcia de Resende, de Luis de Camões.

A decoração humana tem de ser aqui completamente diversa da do Ribatejo. Por baixo das árvores dos Pisões, no perfume das Madre-silvas e das rosas chá, entre o murmúrio das águas e o gorjeio das cotovias, o campino, de cinta e colete encarnado no cavalo lanzudo, ferrado à ligeira, de sela semi árabe, e chairel de pele de cabra tem o ar nostálgico de se arrepiar de frio e de bocejar de tédio.Os divertimentos que em Sintra condizem com os aspectos da natureza são os jogos ingleses de jardim, os concursos hípicos, as corridas de cavalos, as batalhas de flores.A temporada deste verão foi excepcionalmente fértil em diversões desse género. Não se chegaram a realizar os concursos hípicos, os quais em toda a Europa têm tomado um tal incremento entre os prazeres da alta sociedade, que Francisque Sarcey exprimia ainda outro dia o justificado receio de que esta espécie de espectáculos viesse a matar, em breve tempo, o gosto pelo teatro. Mas, se as pessoas que em Sintra têm cavalos e carruagens não organizaram um certame formal, iniciaram-no indirectamente.A batalha das flores, organizada em benefício dos pobres da localidade, se não foi um concurso, foi já uma grande parada e uma bela revista de sport, em que se exibiram em grande gala no meio de um considerável luxo de flores, de pastilhas e de lindas toilettes de verão, os mais belos cavalos de tiro e as mais elegantes carruagens de campo e de passeio.A série de bailes foi inaugurada pela Princesa Amélia. A casa ocupada pelos duques de Bragança é a antiga quinta do Relógio. O prédio, relativamente pequeno, de um só pavimento, abre para os jardins um recanto do caminho dos Pisões, por uma fachada um pouco teatral, em três ou quatro arcos de volta de ferradura, em estilo árabe.A dois bailes dados na quinta do Relógio seguiram-se vários outros nas principais casas aristocráticas de Sintra, sendo o último o dos condes do Paço de Lumiar na linda propriedade dos marqueses de Pombal, e o penúltimo em casa dos duques de Palmela.

A casa de Palmela em Sintra, posto que moderna — creio ter sido construída pelos condes da Póvoa depois de 1834 — é das mais interessantes. Conserva a mobília e a decoração primitiva, o que faz dela um curioso tipo de civilizado interior da Restauração, com salas autenticamente e genuinamente semelhantes àquelas que organizaram e dirigiram em França Madame de Staël, Madame de Remusat, Madame Récamier, Madame Cuizot e Madame de Girardin. E no meio dos motivos egípcios da sua decoração mural, entre os grandes canapés rectilíneos e os altos tremós em colunas de mogno e de ébano com capiteis de bronze cinzelado, legado do primeiro império aos reinados que se lhe seguiram como derradeira invenção original na arte do mobiliário moderno, a silhueta da duquesa de Palmela parece achar-se em uma das molduras que mais convém à expressão das suas linhas.Na noite do baile o antigo parque através do qual se entra na casa Palmela, iluminado de muitos centenares de lanternas venezianas, abria na calma escuridão da noite flexuosas e fantásticas perspectivas de uma profundidade infindável. Por volta das dez horas, à chegada dos duques de Bragança, que se dignaram de assistir a esta festa, os violinos de uma orquestra invisível fizeram ouvir um desenvolvimento de melodia; duas filas de vinte criados, em grande libré, encarnado e preto, calção curto, cabelo empoado, levantando em candelabros as luzes de muitas velas, adiantaram-se desde a porta do vestíbulo até o extremo da marquise que abrigava a descida das carruagens enquanto a dona da casa, de vestido branco em brocado de ouro, recebia à portinhola do landau os seus régios hóspedes. E neste lindo espectáculo, sob os grandes castanheiros, numa quebrada da serra, envolto na solidão dos campos e na abóbada do céu recamado de estrelas, parecia celebrar-se numa espécie de misterioso enlace entre a poesia da noite e a graça hospitaleira da civilização.

Ramalho Ortigão
Outubro 1888