1880. 



AND HORTICULTURIST. 



245 



Natural History and Science. 



THREE VARIETIES OF ASCLEPIAS. 



BY MISS M. EVELYN HUNTER. 



M.any varieties of the Asclepiadacaj or Milk- 

 weed family, natives of Virginia, are now bright- 

 ening the woods and fields by their showy flow- 

 ers. Among others, the variegated Milkweed or 

 A. variegata, with its compact rose-like heads, 

 of nearly white flowers, with just a ring of purple 

 belting each blossom as if to give it a right to its 

 name, attracted my attention by its singular 

 beauty as its white ball of flowers showed 

 through the woods. 



I made tny way with difficulty to the spot 

 where it grew, and found it as handsome on 

 closer inspection as I had considered it from a 

 distance. Its leaves were large, nearly smooth, 

 and a rich deep green color. This grew about 

 two feet from the ground, and was in full flower 

 early in June The next species I noticed was 

 A. rubra, or red flowered milkweed, growing in 

 an uncultivated field. Its leaves were oblong- 

 ovate, tapering to a very sharp point, rounded or 

 slightly heart-shaped at the base, its flowers, a 

 dark red color, do not grow in the same compact 

 mass at the summit of the stem as those of the 

 first-named variety', but have a loose, disheveled 

 appearance, which renders the plant unfit for 

 garden decoration at present. I have an idea, 

 however, that its ragged, straggling habit might be 

 to some extent corrected by proper cultivation, 

 and to those who understand such things I should 

 think it might be possible to cross the A. rubra 

 on the A. variegata, and thus get some of the 

 erect compactness of the one to amend the 

 faulty habit of the other. 



These plants are as well worth our attention 

 as many that are sold now by the florists, and 

 making new varieties would give a diflerent 

 interest to their cultivation. Those who are 

 denied the luxury of a gardener, and attend per- 

 sonally to their plants, have many compensa- 

 tions in the success that sometimes crowns their 

 labors and in the feeling of individual interest in 

 each plant. And although some of us make 

 heavy mistakes in our treatment of them, close 

 attention and observation of their tastes gradu- 

 ally teach us the secret of success even at the cost 

 of many disappointing experiences. It is often 



tiresome to give up an interesting occupation 

 and go out to dig up a yellow half-dead gera- 

 nium, but your interest is soon awakened in 

 finding out the cause of its ill health, which 

 sometimes proves to have been improper soil, or 

 want of drainage, or even an ant-bed at the bot- 

 tom of the pot, any of the above-named evils 

 sufficiently accounting for its condition. 



But I have wandered from the varieties of 

 Asclepias to which I had intended devoting this 

 article, and it would surely be incomplete with 

 the Butterfly Weed or A. tuberosa, left out. It 

 is not common for this plant to bloom as early 

 with us, but this year I found its cluster of 

 bright orange colored flowers in the latter part 

 of May. The stems are round, very hairy, and 

 of a reddish color; the leaves are scattered and 

 supported on petioles little more than the eighth 

 of an inch in length ; they are deep green above, 

 and much lighter on the under side. The flow- 

 ers are situated in terminal corymbose umbels, 

 and are brilliantly colored. The seeds, like the 

 rest of the genus, are furnished with a long silky 

 appendage. The root of this variety is highly 

 spoken of for its medicinal qualities, and the 

 genus to which it belongs takes its name from 

 ^sculapius, the god of Medicine. As says 

 Dr. Barton, in his description of it: "I have 

 seen these three varieties blooming at the same 

 time this year, and think by massing them and 

 cultivating highly, a pretty bed might be made 

 of them for the garden or lawn." 



[There are few genera of plants more beauti- 

 ful than the Asclepias, and if Miss Hunter's 

 notes should lead to a better appreciation of 

 them in garden culture, she will have rendered 

 good service to floriculture. Some of them are 

 delightfully scented.— Ed. G. M.] 



THE RESURRECTION PLANT. 



BY MRS. H. E. WHITE, BRYAN, BR.\Z0S CO., TEXAS. 



A very odd plant was recently given to me 

 that is a native of Western Texas. The roots 

 and leaves seemed perfectly withered and dead. 

 I placed it in a goblet of water, and in a few 

 hours observed that the plant was absorbing the 

 water and returning to life. The leaves when 



