Leycesteria
LEYCESTERIA FORMOSA, from Nepaul (1824), is an erect-growing, deciduous
shrub, with green, hollow stems, and large ovate, pointed leaves of a
very deep green colour. The flowers are small, and white or purplish,
and produced in long, pendulous, bracteate racemes from the axils of
the upper leaves. It is one of the most distinct and interesting of
hardy shrubs, the deep olive-green of both stem and leaves, and
abundantly-produced and curiously-shaped racemes, rendering it a
conspicuous object wherever planted. Perfectly hardy, and of free,
almost rampant growth in any but the stiffest soils. Cuttings root
freely and grow rapidly.