blotched with the same colour : but there has lately appear- 

 ed in our gardens a variety, as here figured, with the whole 

 stem and leaves dark sanguineous purple. It is a plant of 

 great beauty, and, if not sufficiently hardy to bear out- 

 winters, may easily be protected after its old decaying 

 flowering stems are cut away, by a covering of tan or Fern. 

 In the summer it makes a splendid appearance, with its 

 long spikes of vivid scarlet flowers, almost too dazzling to 

 be looked upon. It readily increases by the roots, which, 

 in the autumn, abound in short, creeping stolones, and 

 richly deserves a place in every garden. It is a native of 

 Mexico, and flowers during the summer and autumn 

 months. 



Descr. In many respects this species resembles the well 

 known h.fulgens, but may readily be distinguished by its 

 strong purple tinge, and by the much longer and more 

 acuminated foliage, which is smooth and glossy, destitute of 

 any kind of pubescence. 



