1898 Resurrection Plants. 67 



the " rolling thing before the whirlwind " mentioned by Isaiah. 

 This plant does not resume vitality or even the appearance of it as 

 in the case of the Club moss mentioned above ; but upon the 

 application of moisture, first the hard woody branches, and then 

 the copious, 2 to 4-seeded pods open up and the seeds are dis- 

 charged. The jtlant can be easily grown from seed even after 

 the stems have been kept dry for a great many years.- The 

 living plant, however, is of no beauty, and but for its associa- 

 tions, is of little interest. It is frequently to be seen exposed for 

 sale in curiosity shops both in Europe and in this country. 



The figure given herewith is from a photograph taken by 

 Mr. Shutt of a plate in Nicholson's Dictionary of Gardening. 



LEWISIA REDIVIVA. 



By far the most beautiful of the|plants,which from their power 

 of resuming active growth after being for a long time dry and 

 to all appearances dead which have been called Resurrection 

 Plants and received specific names indicating their recuj^erative 

 power, is the charming member of the Portulaca family named 

 above, of which specimens were found by Capt. M. Lewis who 

 accompanied Capt. Clark, in his celebrated journey to the Rocky 

 Mountains at the end of the last century. Specimens were 

 brought back by these travellers and sent home to Europe as 

 dried botanical specimens ; when, however, these were unpacked 

 many months afterwards the roots were found to have thrown 

 out healthy leaves. Some of the roots were planted and were the 

 first plants of Ltivisia rediviva ever cultivated in Europe. 



There are only two species in the genus Lewisia, one extend- 

 ing from California to the interior of British Columbia, with leaves 

 terete and succulent, growing in tufts, from the apex of the 

 ta[)ering fleshy rootstock. These die down before the flowers 

 appear (in June at Ashcroft B. C.) and- then the large and 

 beautiful flowers, four or five from each root are produced. 

 These are somewhat like those of a cactus, opening out from 

 three to four inches in diameter, pink at the outside and shading 

 towards the centre where they are almost white. The scapes 



