THE WILD PINKS iii 



from Crete, where it grows on calcareous rocks 

 near the sea. It is of bushy growth, and is thickly 

 clothed with short and fleshy leaves. The heads of 

 flowers are pink, the petals are bearded and dentate at 

 the margins. It flowers in October, but there is this 

 drawback to its culture, and that is, unless the locality 

 is exceptionally favourable and the position a dry one, 

 it will not survive anything like a severe winter in 

 England. 



D. atrorubens. — This is a hardy perennial from two 

 feet to three feet high, and bears densely crowded 

 heads of dark red flowers in summer. It is a good 

 border plant when a mass of it is grown, as the 

 flowers are produced with great freedom over a long 

 season, the stems springing from a tuft of long 

 grassy leaves. It is a native of South Europe, and is 

 found in grassy mountain pastures where the situation 

 is dry and open. 



D. Bisignani. — This is known also under the name 

 of D. rupicola, and is quite a shrubby Pink, growing on 

 the rocks of the sea-coast of Sicily and Naples. It is 

 showy but only half-hardy, and forms a neat little 

 bush not more than eighteen inches high, the leaves 

 slightly fleshy, but not so densely produced as in 

 D. arboreus. The light-coloured flowers are in a head 

 of from eight to twelve. When grown away from the 

 influence of the sea the leaves are not so fleshy, but 

 the flowers are often larger, and fewer in number in 

 the individual head. It requires a warm and sheltered 

 position, and the flowers appear in November. It 

 was introduced in 1825. 



