496 



THE ENGLISH FLOWER GARDEN. 



Baneberry. They are tall herbaceous 

 plants ; one at least is handsome — C. 

 racemosa (Black Snakeroot), 3 to 8 ft. high, 

 with feathery racemes of white blossoms 

 I to 3 ft. long, which, being slender, droop 

 gracefully ; but the plants generally are 

 not of much garden value. They are of 

 easy culture in rich soil, and may be used 

 as groups in the wild garden. The 

 flowers have an offensive odour. Division. 

 N. America and Asia. 

 Cineraria maritima. See Senecio. 

 Cissus. See \'itis. 

 CISTUS {Rock Rose).— 'W^^ Rock Roses 

 are amongst the most beautiful of flower- 

 ing shrubs, but in our country it is only on 

 the lightest and warmest soils and on 

 walls that they may be trusted to survive 

 our winters. Most of the species have 

 been at one time or another in cultiva- 

 tion in this country, but their value is 

 greatly lessened by the recurring severe 

 winters which kill unprotected plants of 

 so many of the kinds. All the 

 species are Old World plants, most 

 of them being natives of South-western 

 Europe ; some extend to North Africa 

 and Asia Minor, and one to the Canary 

 Islands. Many of them vary in colour, 

 and hybridise freely. In spite of the 

 fugacious character of the flowers, their 

 bright colours and the profusion in which 

 a succession is kept up for a considerable 

 time give the Cistus a high place among 

 garden shrubs. They prefer a dry sandy 

 soil, and, alth ough some grow freely enough 

 in almost any garden soil, they are much 

 more likely to suffer during winter in 

 rich ground. The positions best for 

 them are sunny banks on warm sandy 

 soil, and something may be done by 

 protection and frequently raising and pro- 

 pagating the plant. There are many 

 natural hybrids, some confusion ofnarnes, 

 and many more names than distinct 

 plants, this, and the fact that these sun- 

 loving bushes from the south are tender 

 over a large area of our islands makes 

 us limit the species named here to the 

 more distinct and hardier kinds. 



C. albidus {Whiie Rock AW^).— The 

 name of this is derived from the whitish 

 tomentum which clothes the leaves and 

 young shoots. It forms a compact bush 

 2 to 4 feet high ; the rose-coloured flowers 

 are about 2 inches across, and the style 

 is longer than the tuft of yellow stamens. 

 .S. Europe. 



C. Bourgaeanus is a native of the Pine 

 woods of Southern Spain and Portugal, 

 where it flowers in the month of April, 

 grows a foot in height, and has prostrate 

 branches, covered with narrow dark-green 



leaves. The white flowers are about an 

 inch across, and it is a good plant for a 

 sunny spot in the rock-garden. 



C. crispus. — This forms a compact 

 bush, I to 2 feet high, with tortuous 

 branches, the rose-coloured flowers nearly 

 I inches across. There are some hybrids 

 between this species and C. albidus which 

 are nearer the seed-bearing parent than 

 they are to C. albidus. 



C. Cyprius. — This is a handsome bush 

 like the Gum Cistus, but the flowers appear 

 several together instead of solitary. It is 

 nearly hardy at least in the south, has a 

 glutinous exudation, and the flowers are 

 large with a dark spot at the base. It is 

 said to be a native of Cyprus, but this is 

 doubtful. 



C. florentinus {Florence Rock Rose). — 

 A handsome bush, flowering freely and of 

 easy culture, and I find it hardy and en- 

 during on soils where other kinds perish. 

 It is evergreen and charming on the tops 

 of dry walls and banks ; and for the 

 bold rock-garden one could not desire 



a prettier bush ; 2 to 3 feet high, bearing 

 myriads of white flowers throughout the 

 summer. 



C. formosus {Beautiful Rock Rose). — 

 A much-branched, bushy shrub, with 

 leaves greenish when old, but whitish 

 when young, and large bright yellow 

 flowers with a deep purple-brown blotch 

 near the base of each petal. The plant 

 thrives well in any warm soil, but is apt 

 to succumb in severe winters. It is, 

 however, such a beautiful plant, that it is 

 well worth the trouble of putting in a pot 

 of cuttings each autumn in a cold frame, 

 planting these out in the open the follow- 

 ing spring. If raised from seeds, some 

 variation in the colour results. I find it 

 does well on the top of "dry" walls. 



C. glaucus. — A much-branched bush, 



