ANDROSACE. 
not closely overlapping, with a long point, and set with a few whitish 
hairs, especially towards their tip. A. caespitosa forms wide masses, 
from which the rather large flowers—bigger than in A. helvetica—just 
emerge and stand aloof. Quite similar, again, is A. Vegae from Arctic 
Eastern Siberia, but the leaves here broaden a little towards their 
blunted tip. 
_ A. carnea is one of the best known and best grown of our alpine 
species. It belongs to the group of Chamaejasme, but is practically 
smooth and without down, forming larger or smaller tufts or mats of 
emerald-green foliage, broader or narrower, almost wholly hairless and 
downless, with only a few small hairs at the edge. The flowers are 
lovely, of a brighter or paler or very pale pink, carried in loose heads at 
the top of 2- or 3-inch stems more or less downy. This species has a 
most abundant distribution, if not a specially wide range, from the 
Pyrenees through the Alps, only as far as the Stelvio. In these limits, 
however, it varies indefinitely in size and length and breadth of leaf, 
in strength and width of tuffet, in size and colour of blossom. Its varie- 
ties and synonyms are, accordingly, the despair of gardeners and the 
happy chance of catalogues. These are now proclaiming A. Reverchoniu 
with shouts of glee as a “‘novelty.”’ Now, anything that has not 
been in cultivation more than twelve years is a “novelty,” we know; 
but even this pleasant definition will not serve to save A. Reverchonit, 
which is merely a later and discarded synonym of A. carnea-type. As 
for A. Halleri, now announced with yet more poignant trumpet-blasts, 
this is A. carnea var. Hallert from the Cevennes, with leaves much 
longer, eyelashed, always recurved at the tip, and glossy-green. Yet 
another form is A. carnea var. brigantiaca, from grassy places on the 
Mont Cenis and other heights, with narrow spreading leaves, recurving, 
with the edges more or less toothed towards their tip (Mont Cenis also 
yields a frail weak and narrow-leaved small form, with almost annual- 
looking tufts of two or three rosettes, and flowers of a diaphanous 
pearly pink). There is also a hoary, lax-tufted downy form, A. puberula, 
and gardens know a very broad-leaved variety, with large and few 
rosettes in the mat, and full-faced blooms of glowing pink, under the 
name of A. carnea eximia, now become regrettably rare in cultivation. 
But the finest of all forms, far exceeding A. carnea-type itself in merit, 
is that form from the Pyrenees which has almost earned the specific 
rank conferred on it by cataloguesand gardens as A. Laggeri. A. carnea 
var. Laggeriis a development restricted to the Pyrenees—a most lovely 
plant, forming wider but much smaller tuffets than the type, of dark 
emerald-green leaves much shorter and narrower and finer and more 
hypnum-like, never recurving. From these rise more frequent heads 
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