168 GELASINE AZUREA. 



a pinkish hue, the calyx being of that tint. Although not a first-rate plant, it will 

 yet prove of value in the mixed borders ; for any other purpose it is unfitted by its 

 tall habit of growth. It is not, we fear, quite hardy, a plant we exposed last winter 

 having perished, but on this point further information is required ; in any case, a 

 few cuttings taken off in autumn will be sufficient to preserve the stock from year 

 to year. 



To return for one moment to the (Enotheras, we may observe that, in common 

 with nearly all the other plants of the Order, they are destitute of any marked 

 properties ; the roots of (E. biennis have, however, been used for food, and there is 

 presumptive evidence that none of this tribe are in any way deleterious. 



Some difference of opinion exists with regard to the derivation of the term 

 (Enothera. According to the more generally received explanation, it is compounded 

 of oinos, wine, and thera, imbibing ; the roots of biennis, one of the earliest known 

 Bpecies, being supposed to be an incentive to wine. Thera also means a wild beast ; 

 and according to an ancient writer, the (Enothera, or a plant bearing the 6ame 

 name, when steeped in wine, possessed the property of rendering savage animals 

 more tractable. It may not be improper to point out, that in the word (Enothera, 

 the accent falls on the penultimate, or third syllable. 



GELASINE AZUREA. 



Azure Gelasine. 

 Linnean Class — Triandbia. Order — Monooynia. Natural Order — Iridace.e. 



Now that hardy bulbs are beginning to be more sought after, any addition to their 

 number will be likely to be favourably received, especially when possessed of flowers 

 of so attractive a tint as those of the Gelasine azurea. 



This pretty plant is, we suspect, but very little known ; indeed, we have recently 

 seen in a popular Dictionary of plants a fear expressed that it was lost ; and it is 

 partly with a view to remove this impression, that we are induced to give a figure 

 of it. We met with the plant at the nursery of Messrs. E. G. Henderson and Sons, 

 St. John's "Wood, and we believe that these gentlemen are at present the only 

 possessors of it. Its price is extremely moderate for so rare a plant; flowering bulbs 

 may be had for about Is. 6d. 



The Gelasine azurea was first introduced into this country in the living state 

 in 1837, having been sent from Boston, U. S., to the collection of the lamented Dean 



