THE GENUS AQUILEGIA. 



43 



THE GENUS AQUILEGIA. 



The rage for novelty which possesses certain classes of Florists, and above all, the 

 ' bedding ' mania, threaten with extinction many of our most interesting herba- 

 ceous subjects ; for whatever may be the beauty of a plant, it has, now-a-days, but 

 little chance of meeting with attention unless it happens to be a continuous flowerer. 



We are persuaded, however, that there are many whose love of flowers is 

 uninfluenced by these conventional considerations and other caprices of fashion ; 

 to such we venture to recommend, among other plants to be hereafter mentioned 

 whose merits have equally been overlooked, the very pretty herbaceous genus 

 Aquilegia. A few of the species are of sufficiently recent introduction to satisfy 

 even the greatest stickler for novelty ; but it is rather on their beauty, hardiness, 

 easy management, and adaptability to every situation, that we would found their 

 claims to attention. 



Of the numerous species now known, nearly the whole are of sufficient interest 

 to merit a place in the borders ; but as our space is limited, we must content 

 ourselves with noticing a few of the best ; these are, we think, alpina, fragrans 

 glandulosa, jucunda, leptoceras, and Skinneri. 



Alpina, the first named, is perhaps one of the finest species of the genus, at least 

 it produces the largest and most showy flowers ; they are as much as three inches 

 across, with very spreading sepals, and of the deepest blue ; the plant is compara- 

 tively dwarf, and the foliage rather small. It is a native of Switzerland. 



Fragrans is one of the few yellow species, and is a beautiful plant, with sweet- 

 scented blossoms, as its name implies. It does not much exceed a foot in height, 

 and requires to be kept somewhat dry in winter, by having an empty pot turned 

 over it. It is a Himalayan species. 



Glandulosa resembles alpina, but has its petals more acute ; there appear, 

 however, to be several varieties sold under this name ; the true glandulosa has 

 self-coloured blue flowers, without any admixture of white, and is a very fine 

 species; being a native of Siberia, it is quite hardy, but likes to be dry in 

 winter. 



Jucunda — and most truly is it named joyous-looking— -is one of the finest of the 

 group. It is allied to the preceding, but differs from it in having white, or nearly 

 white petals, the sepals being deep blue ; tbey are further distinguished by the 

 shape of the petals, which in jucunda arc much less acute than in glandulosa. This, 

 too, is a Siberian species, and is injured by excessive wet in winter, though in 

 summer it requires to be freely supplied with moisture. 



Leptoceras is a beautiful North American species, remarkable for the length of its 



