434 



ANDROSACE. 



THE ENGLISH FLOWER GARDEN. 



ANDROSACE. 



A. Heerii. — A very rare plant found only 

 upon the Martinsloch in Switzerland, and a 

 supposed cross between helvetica and glacialis. 

 Tiny saucer-shaped flowers of bright red, and 

 intermediate habit. Syn. A. bryoides. 



A. helvetica. — A charming plant of the mossy 

 section, growing in neat rounded cushions of 

 grey-green, hairy leaves set in rosettes, and 

 lovely white flowers with a yellow eye. The 

 flowers are so large as often to overlap. Thrives 

 in gritty soil and partial shade, planted between 

 limestone rocks closely set and deeply buried 

 to secure moisture and drainage at the same 

 time. Seeds. Alps and Carpathians. 



A. Hookeriana. — A little-known kind from 

 the Himalayas of Sikkim, Lachen, and Don- 

 kiala, at a height of 15,000 feet. Though hardy, 

 it is apt to damp oft" in our winters and should 

 be planted in a mixture of peat and sand among 

 rocks sheltered from wet. It has rosettes of 

 oval, shining green leaves, and in spring deep 

 pink flowers in small clusters. 



A. imbricata. — Pretty in leaf and flower, 

 coming very near A. helvetica but of denser 

 growth, leaves narrower and silvery white with 

 fine hairs, and white flowers set oft" by a bright 

 rosy eye. Thrives in granite or sandstone grit 

 in full sun. Seeds. Syn. A. argentea. 



A. lactea. — A free, strong-growing plant, 

 making rosettes of shining green leaves, and in 

 spring large white flowers with a yellow centre, 

 in broad loose clusters of five or six. Easily 

 grown in light limestone soil, in sun or partial 

 shade. Seeds. Limestone rocks from 3,000 

 to 4,500 feet, from the Cevennes, through the 

 Alps into Austria. Syn. A. paitcijlora. 



A. lactiflora. — A biennial species from Si- 

 beria ; raise from seed in autumn, winter in a 

 cool frame, and plant out in spring. The white 

 or pale blue flowers are borne in large loose 

 clusters of pretty effect during summer. Syns. 

 A. coronopifolia and alisnioides. 



A.Laggeri. — With clusters of narrow pointed 

 leaves, and flowers of bright pink paling to- 

 wards the centre, gathered into showy little 

 heads of six or eight. Very hardy, it is one of 

 the earliest alpine flowers to open, starring 

 the green tufts like a miniature Thrift. Sandy 

 soil in partial shade, and no lime. Seeds or 

 cuttings. Pyrenees. 



A. lanuginosa. — A lovely and distinct plant 

 with trailing silvery shoots, leaves covered 

 ■with silky hairs, and flower clusters of soft 

 rose colour. It does best in warm places 

 near the sea, planted in sunny corners of the 

 rock-garden. Where the soil is free and open 

 it thrives as a border plant ; where the soil is 

 too heavy, it may be grown on "dry" walls 

 against moist earth banks. It has a long season 

 of flower, even lasting into October, growing 

 best in south and west aspects, in sandy soils 

 (or even chalk). Seed (which ripens only in 

 good years), layers, and cuttings. A good form 

 of this is Leichtlini (syn. ociilata) with larger 

 flowers of deeper colour with a conspicuous 

 eye. From 7,000 to 10,000 feet. Himalaya. 



A. macrantha. — A rare kind from Armenia, 

 with rosettes of narrow, horny-tipped leaves. 



and clusters of large pure white flowers, borne 

 upon stout stems. 



A. maxima. — Unlike others of the group 

 this is a lowland plant, growing in mountain 

 valleys of France, Switzerland, and the Pyre- 

 nees. Flowers white, with a yellow throat. 



A. obtiisifolia. — Robust and easily grown, 

 with large rosettes of spoon-shaped leaves 

 fringed by fine hairs, and short downy stems 

 carrying from one to six white or rosy flowers 

 wath a yellow eye. It is nearly 6 inches high, 

 and may be gathered by the handful upon the 

 alpine slopes at midsummer. With us it flowers 

 earlier, planted in peaty soil and in full sun. 

 Alps and Carpathians. Syns. A. aretioides and 

 brevifolia. 



A. piibescens. — A mossy kind with leaves 

 turning red-brown in autumn. It may be 

 known by a small swelling on the very short 

 flower-stem, just below the flower. These are 

 white, rather large, with a faint yellow eye, 

 and come singly just above the little cushion 

 of hoary leaves covered with star-like hairs. It 

 is a lovely little plant, pretty at all seasons, of 

 easy culture in crevices of sandy soil. Alps. 



A. pyreiiaica. — One of the same mossy 

 group, with tiny grey rosettes in dense tufts, 

 one flower from every centre, white like hel- 

 vetica but less pure, not so well formed, and 

 upon short stems. It is not easy to grow well 

 but does best in deep fissures between upright 

 rocks ; it may also be grown on the fiat, in 

 peat and sandy loam between buried stones. 

 Central Pyrenees. Syn. Aretia pyi-enaica. 



A. rotundifolia. — A Himalayan plant rarely 

 well grown in gardens, very distinct, with 

 rounded kidney-shaped leaves, deeply cut at 

 the edges, and flowers of lilac or dull purple in 

 crowded heads. Nepaul. Syns. A. cordi folia, 

 and iiicisa. A form known as macrocalyx is 

 more robust, softly hairy all over, with heads 

 of pale rose flowers and a spreading calyx. 



A. sai-mentosa. — Leaves silvery with hairs, 

 in dense rosettes, from which spring a few 

 larger spoon-shaped leaves around the base of 

 the flower-stem, and slender runners which 

 spread and root in all directions. This kind 

 spreads fast, when kept from damping by a 

 layer of fine stones under the shoots and a glass 

 shade in winter. It thrives in free limestone 

 soil, firmly wedged between masses of rock in 

 a sunny spot. The runners are easily layered 

 and detached when rooted. There are several 

 named forms, including ^;'a;/a'{/^//rt, JVatkiini, 

 and primiiloides, but only the last, with pretty 

 pale lilac flowers, appears to be in cultivation. 

 The plant usually known as var. Chumbyi is 

 now classed as a cross between sarmentosa and 

 villosa. It is of stouter habit, rooting quite as 

 freely from runners, less apt to damp, with 

 flowers of deeper colour. Himalaya. 



A. sempervivoides. — A rare plant, pretty, 

 easily grown, spreading by runners, and bear- 

 ing clusters of pink or purplish flowers upon a 

 stout stem in May and June. Its tiny leaves 

 curl in dense cone-like rosettes, at times only 

 half an inch across, but often larger in gardens ; 

 the new shoots only take this curled form as 



