XERANTHEMUM. 239 



XERANTHEMUM, or IMMORTAL 

 FLOWER. Xeranthemum. 



Natural Order Compositae DlscoideeB CoryrnhifercB, Jiiss. 

 A Genus of the Synge?iesia Polygamia Superjlua 

 Class. 



This plant derives its name from the Greek ^r^p-)^^ 

 dry, and ocv^os, a flower, because the petals of the 

 corolla are of a dry chaffy nature, and the flower 

 therefore does not wither when gathered, but is, on 

 this account, admitted into the number of immortal 

 flowers. It forms one of the principal ornaments 

 of the dried bouquets, as the colours vary from 

 white to a bright glossy yellow ; whilst others are of 

 a fine lilac or purple, resembling flowers formed of 

 foil and floss silk. 



In their natural state these flowers are sino-le. 

 but the art of the florist has doubled the petals from 

 a single row to eight or ten rows of irregular- sized 

 petals^ falling over each other like the scales of 

 fish. The seeds are feathered similar to those of 

 the Dandelion, but are set on a flat, instead of a 

 globular receptacle. When these flowers are in- 

 tended to be kept in a dried state, they should be 



