54 CISTACE^. 



in any soil and in most situations, but preferring bright sunny 

 ones and light dry soil. It is admirable clothing for dry rocky 

 places and sandy knolls, and luxuriates most in such places, 

 but succeeds also well in open borders ; and being very hardy, 

 it should be planted more freely even than it is. Native of 

 many countries of southern Europe and Asia Minor. 



I. Tenoreana (Tenore's Candytuft). — From the colour of the 

 flowers differing considerably from the other kinds, this species 

 should become more favoured when it becomes better known 

 and more plentiful. It resembles /. gibraltarica in its style of 

 growth and the form of the flower-heads, which are close and 

 compact and do not elongate, and the colour, white at first, 

 changes to purplish red. It differs from /. gib7'altarica also in 

 being hairy in nearly every part. The blossoms are very pro- 

 fuse, but the plant in the true form has not been proved as re- 

 gards hardiness north of the Tweed, in so far as I am aware, 

 and should therefore be trusted out with caution in the north 

 in winter till such time as there is ample stock in hand to cover 

 any casualty. Native of Naples. 



CISTACE^. 



The only genus in this order that may with propriety be as- 

 sociated with herbaceous plants is Helianthemum^ the Rock- 

 Rose. The species comprised in this genus — a large one — 

 are, with the exception of one or two, more or less woody, be- 

 ing dwarf diffuse shrubs, well adapted to the purposes to which 

 dwarf herbaceous and alpine plants are turned in ornamental 

 gardening. It would be difficult to overpraise the beauty of the 

 flowers of these Rock-Roses, so brilliant in colour and handsome 

 in form are they ; and it is astonishing that so few of a fam- 

 ily so ornamental should be cultivated in our gardens. Pos- 

 sibly the fugaceous character of the flowers may explain why 

 they are so seldom seen ; but the long-continued succession of 

 flowers that may be kept up on well-cultivated young plants 

 should be ample compensation for any defect of that kind in 

 the individual flowers. The blooming season is often brief 

 enough on old weak plants, but on young vigorous ones a close 

 and profuse succession is kept up for a month or two. They 

 offer a most promising field for the labour of the florist^ not 

 only in the way of selection, but also in hybridising. The 

 florist has had less encouragement to undertake some of the 



