PLOT E 73 



The north-west bed of Plot D is filled with the 



Ord. 99. LOBELIACEAE. Indian Tobacco, L. inflata, is 



used medicinally for asthma. And the 



Ord. 100. CAMPANULACEAE. Harebells. The Harebell, C. 



rotundifolia ; Canterbury Bell, C. medium. A noteworthy 



member of the group, Owstrowskia magnified, is worthy of a 



place in the Garden. 



PLOT E 



ERICALES 



Ord. 102. ERICACEAE. To the Heath Family belong the 

 beautiful " American Plants " the Rhododendrons, Azaleas, 

 and Kalmias. None do well in our calcareous Oxford soil, 

 but a few specimen plants are contained in a small round bed 

 under a Pyrus intermedia at the south end of the plot. 

 Heaths are examples of moorland plants which live with a 

 microscopic partner, to the friendship of whom they are in- 

 debted for certain foods present in the peaty soil, though in 

 a form which is not available to the unaided Heath. The 

 useful partner is a fungus, known to science as Mycorhiza. In 

 this country they are represented by the dwarf-growing Bil- 

 berries, Cowberries, and Cranberries of the genus Vaccinium. 

 The Arbutus, abundant about the lakes of Killarney, has 

 been killed in severe winters in Oxford, but there is a plant 

 that bears fruit at the Canal Offices (A. H. C.). In Australia, 

 Epacris replaces the Erica of the Northern Hemisphere. 



Ord. 107. PLUMBAGINACEAE. Sea Lavender, Statice. In 

 the Sea Pink or Thrift, Armeria, minute glands in the axils 

 of the leaves rid the plant of effete or injurious substances. 

 When they are watered with water containing lime, specks of 

 chalk may be seen at the mouths of the glands. Plumbago 

 europaea has a bad reputation on the Continent : beggars use 

 it to ulcerate the skin, and thus to elicit alms from the 

 compassionate. 



, 198. PRIMULAQEAE are less remarkable for economic 



