28 BERBERIDACE^.. 



Some of the Epimediums, being evergreen, are well adapted 

 for furnishing the margins of beds of shrubs, their dwarf elegant 

 mode of growth bringing about a very pleasing gradation from 

 the shrubs to the ground edge, be it grass or box and gravel. 

 Once established in stock, and while doing well, these plants 

 should not be disturbed by annual deep diggings and trans- 

 plantings ; they dislike being much moved once they are estab- 

 lished in a place; and only when they begin to decline, or 

 when it may be necessary to increase stock, should they be 

 moved. Division is the best mode of increasing these, and it 

 is best done, especially in counties north of the Tweed, in early 

 spring, just as activity begins to show itself returning. Of other 

 herbaceous genera of this curious and interesting order — Caiilo- 

 phyllum thalidr aides ^ with yellow and very fugaceous flowers, 

 from N. America, and Diphylleja cymosa, with white flowers, also 

 from N. America, and in both which the leaves are produced 

 twin-fashion — there is little seen even in botanical gardens in 

 this country, and they are decidedly more curious than beauti- 

 ful ; fit subjects for botanical collections, in fact. They require 

 the same conditions in culture as Jeffersonia, to which they are 

 closely allied. 



Epimedium. — This family contains three or four distinct and 

 pretty species, some or all of which should be cultivated in 

 every collection of hardy border-plants. They are hardy, ele- 

 gant plants, adapted to any purpose to which herbaceous plants 

 may be turned. 



E. alpinum {Alpine E.) — This is one of the most elegant 

 and interesting, though not the showiest, of the group. It grows 

 in graceful rounded masses, a foot or more high, with elegant 

 compound leaves on slender hard smooth stalks, with lively 

 green heart-shaped leaflets, bronzed and rigidly ciliated on the 

 margin. The flowers in long loose racemes spring from the 

 leaf-stalks an inch or two below the primary divisions of the 

 leaves, are small, reddish brown, with curious spurred yellow 

 and rather inconspicuous corollas. 



E. macranthum {Large-flowered E.) — This is the finest of 

 Epimediums, and a very handsome and interesting plant. It is 

 less vigorous in growth than the last species, growing from 6 

 inches to i foot high, with leaves of the same structure and 

 general form, but smaller, and usually bronzed and shining in 

 the early stages of growth ; the margins ciliated and the stalks 

 slightly hairy. The flowers are white, tinted with purple; and 

 the petals, about an inch long and four in number, are pure 

 white, transparent, and are the most conspicuous feature in the 

 flower. The flower-stalks carry the flowers slightly above the 



