Panicum — Papaver — Papyrus. 169 



*Panicum virgatum. — A handsome, bold, hardy spe- 

 cies from N. America, growing, in good soil, to a height 

 of nearly 3^ ft. It forms close, compact tufts of leaves, 

 a foot or more long, which, from July to the first frosts, 

 are crowned with very large, dense, branching panicles. 

 The general colour of the plant is a fine lively green, 

 and its graceful habit renders it an admirable subject for 

 the picturesque flower-garden, the pleasure-ground, etc., 

 in isolated tufts. It is also fine for borders. The best 

 mode of multiplying it is by division in the spring, when 

 vegetation is just commencing. 



*Papaver bracteatum (Great Scarlet Poppy). — A 

 remarkably vigorously-growing perennial species from 

 Siberia and N. Russia, with simple, rough, hairy stems 

 more than 4 ft. high, each terminated by a single flower 

 9 ins. broad, and of a bright deep brick-red colour, 

 with a large black spot at the base of each petal, and 2 

 or 3 leaf-like bracts at the base of each flower. The 

 radical leaves, which are very deeply divided, form a 

 dense broad tuft resting on the ground. A very orna- 

 mental plant for the open parts of pleasure-grounds, 

 flourishing in almost any kind of well-drained soil. It 

 will prove most effective as an isolated plant in the 

 rougher parts of the pleasure-ground. A plant of it 

 would also show to great advantage in a group of green- 

 leaved subjects like the Ferulas. Very closely resembling 

 the preceding is the Armenian species P. orientalis. It is 

 however smaller in every respect, and the flowers want 

 the distinguishing bracts. 



Papyrus antiquorum (Egyptian Paper -plant). — A 

 very graceful reed, or rather cyperus, which yielded the 



