from which a stock has been raised. The species appears 
to be short-lived under cultivation and is best treated as 
a biennial. The flower-spikes reach a height of about 
two feet, and as the whorls of flowers develop in slow 
succession the plants remain in blossom for about three 
months in spring. At Kew this species is too tender for 
cultivation out of doors. 
Description.—Herb, rootstock fleshy. Leaves spreading or drooping, long- 
stalked, oblong-elliptic, apex rounded, base cordate, 34-54 in. long, 23-3 in. 
wide, coarsely crenate, the lobes minutely crenulate, thinly papery, dark-green 
above and finely setulose, beneath yellowish-green and usually crisply 
puberulous on the nerves and veins; lateral nerves about 8 along each side 
the midrib, the basal pair slightly recurved, all leaving the midrib at an angle 
of about 45°, and all raised beneath; venation laxly reticulate; petiole up to 
6 in. long, reddish-purple, crisply pilose. Flowers disposed in racemes of 
whorls; common scape reddish, pilose; whorls about 6-flowered ; pedicels up 
to 13 in. long, pilose; bracts subulate-lanceolate, up to 3 in. long. Calyx 
turbinate-campanulate, outside pilose; tube 3 in. long, lobes lanceolate, acute, 
% in. long. Corolla rotate, rose-purple; tube wide cylindric, 3 in. long, 
glabrous; lobes 5, spreading ‘or slightly recurved, wide orbicular-ovate, apex 
wide emarginate, about 2 in. long, and as much across. Anthers inserted near 
the middle of the tube, ovoid-oblong, 3; in. long. Style } in. long, slender ; 
stigma depressed-capitate. 
Tas, 8762.—Fig. 1, young flower; 2, corolla laid open, showing staminal 
insertion ; 3, pistil; 4, sketch of an entire plant :—all enlarged except 4, which 
ws much reduced, 
