IRISH GARDENING 



157 



Puya chilensis. 



The development of an inflorescence by this 

 Bromeliad in the open at Cambridge is an event 

 which amplifies the usefulness of " experiment." 



The plant in question was planted in the open 

 between the plant-houses some fifteen years ago, 

 and since that time it has thriven in a remarkable 

 manner, building up vigour year after year, until 

 now it has reached its flowering stage. 



The accompanying illustration depicts the 

 entire plant, including the fully developed 

 inflorescence. 



The flowers were borne with great freedom, 

 the colour of same 

 being a greenish - 

 yellow, and their dura- 

 tion being about a 

 month from the open- 

 ing of the first flower 

 until the last one had 

 fallen. 



The scape grew 

 about half an inch 

 daily, and the huge 

 bracts on the outside 

 of same were a feature 

 to be noted . The scape 

 continued to grow 

 until it bad reached a 

 height of nearly six 

 feet, when the side 

 branches of the in- 

 florescence gradually 

 developed, numbering 

 in all about forty. 



The illustration 

 clearly shows the egre- 

 gious character and 

 size of the huge rosettes 

 of succulent leaves. 

 The side growths were 

 developed in 1910, 

 when the appearance 

 of the inflorescence 

 was anticipated, but 

 no sign of its develop- 

 ment was apparent 

 until February of this 

 year. 



The height of the 

 spike is just about six 



feet, including the in- Dracocephalu 



florescence, and the 

 entire plant from the 

 base to apex is quite twelve feet. 



Much credit is due to Mr. R. J. Lynch, M.A., 

 the Curator of the Botanic Gardens, for the 

 success which has been attained in the successful 

 rearing of this handsome plant. 



Numerous other lender plan+s can also be seen 

 thriving between the plant-houses at Cambridge, 

 and are one of the noteworthy features for which 

 this garden is famous. EL C. Ei.sdon. 



OXALIS LOB ATA. 

 One of the brightest plants in flower on the 

 rockery at the end of September is this pretty 

 little Oxalis, from tufts of neat foliage, bilobed and 

 slightly glaucous underneath ; flower stems only 

 two or three inches high arise and bear large 

 golden-yellow flowers. Oxalis lobata has a tuberous 

 root. Although it is a native of Chili it seems quite 

 hardy and is a good flower. 



Dracocephalum bullatum. 



Lovers of Alpines are always on the watch for 

 novelties, and even if a plant is not remarkably 

 beautiful, yet if distinct and uncommon in 

 appearance it will probably be much sought 

 after and admired. 



Personally we do not consider this novelty a 

 beautiful plant, although others may differ, but one 

 that is abundantly distinct with good qualities. 



Some of the other Dracocephalums are not long 

 lived, but this new Dragon's Head seems a 

 thrifty, easily grown plant for a sunny place when 

 given ordinary soil. The plant was photographed 



on the Glasnevin 

 Rockery in May, a crop 

 of seed ripened and 

 germinated freely, then 

 at the beginning of 

 September it was again 

 flowering as freely as in 

 May. and late autumn 

 flowering plants are 

 particularly valuable 

 for the rockery because 

 of their scarcity. 



The leaves are re- 

 markable because of 

 their thick leathery 

 texture and wrinkled, 

 raised surface : they 

 also form anot her 

 means of increasing the 

 plant : if placed in sand 

 in a warm house they 

 will produce young 

 plants. The leaves are 

 about three inches long 

 by two broad, oval in 

 shape, narrowed at 

 the base with crenate 

 margins and strong 

 purplish veins. The 

 leaf stalks are three to 

 four inches long. The 

 flowers, each an inch in 

 length, are purplish, 

 spotted with deep pur- 

 ple in the throat, borne 

 in dense heads on stems 

 from six to nine inches 

 high, produced freely 

 enough to forma very 

 attractive plant. 



Dracocephalum 

 tanguticum is another late flower very different in 

 appearance to D. bullatum. It forms a little bush 

 about a foot high, and carries numerous light blue 

 flowers on long dense spikes, making an excellent 

 subject for the rockery. Both these species have 

 been introduced from China by the Bees, Ltd. 



A fine plant now flowering well at the end of 

 September is D. Ruyschianum japonicum, form- 

 ing a bushy subject about a foot high, with long 

 narrow leaves with recurved margins, and bearing 

 at the tips of the shoots clusters of large pale 

 blue flowers. 



The Physostegias are also sometimes called 

 Dracocephalums. They are handsome North 

 American plants, useful for a rich border, growing 

 up to four feet high, with long spikes of pink or 

 white flowers opening from July to September. 

 The flowers are interesting and curious in that 

 they are cataleptic, moving from side to side 

 if touched as if they worked on hinges. 



