PYXIE, FLOWERING MOSS 



Carolina; a plant which creeps like a vine, looks like 

 a moss, flowers like an herb, and is really a shrub; 

 that is, its stems are woody. It forms small evergreen 

 mounds resembling mossy cushions, which in early 



Pyxie. Pyxidanthera barbuldia 



spring are sprinkled wdth pink buds and tiny white 

 flowers. 



The name is purely scientific but, shortened to 

 Pyxie, irresistibly suggests the fairy wild folk to whom 

 that name belongs and, smiling upward in the April 

 sunshine, the tiny creature wields a marvellous charm. 



The Pyxie belongs to a small and exceptionally in- 

 teresting group of plants which are remarkable for 

 their beauty, distinctiveness, and geographical distri- 

 bution. They, allied to the heaths, are survivors of 

 an ancient world and represent a vanishing race. The 

 plant grows best in moist, sandy soil, in partial shade 

 and soil rich in vegetable mould. The buds normally 

 are pale pink; in full sunlight and poor soil they are 

 darker. 



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