POLYGONATUM. THE ENGLISH FLOWER GARDEN. POLYGON ATUM. 639 



and easily grown in sunny chinks of 

 the rock garden if in calcareous soil. 

 They form neat dressy tufts of blue, 

 purple-pink, and white flowers. Seed 

 may be gathered from wild plants and 

 sown in sandy soil. 



POLYGONATUM (Solomon's Seal}. 

 Graceful tuberous perennials, distri- 

 buted chiefly in the north temperate 

 regions, and with very few exceptions 

 quite hardy with us. They thrive in 

 almost any position in good sandy soil 

 and with an occasional dressing of leaf 

 soil. It is in shady nooks of the wild 

 garden, however, under deciduous 

 trees, that they are seen to the best 

 advantage. They are increased by 



leaves bright green ; flowers large, two to 

 five in a bunch from the axils of the leaves, 

 greenish-white, in July. N. America. 



P. MULTIFLORUM (Solomon's Seal). 

 This is the common Solomon's Seal. It 

 grows from 2 to 3 feet high, glaucous 

 green ; the flowers are large, nearly white, 

 one to five in a bunch in the axils of all 

 the leaves. It is a very free-growing 

 species, and its arching stems and drooping 

 flowers are very attractive. There are 

 several garden varieties, notably a double- 

 flowered one. P. Broteri is a variety with 

 much larger flowers ; P. bracteatum, a 

 form in which the bracts at the base of 

 the flowers are well developed, flowering 

 throughout the summer. 



P. OPPOSITIFOLIUM. Confined to tem- 

 perate regions of the Himalayas and hardy, 



W/vmM, 



Polygonatum multiflorum (Solomon's Seal). 



seeds, which, sown as soon as gathered 

 in autumn, germinate in early spring ; 

 the creeping root-stocks may also be 

 divided, and in good soil soon form 

 nice tufts. 



P. BIFLORUM. A pretty species from 

 the wooded hillsides of Canada and New 

 Brunswick, of slender, graceful growth, 

 the arching stems i to 3 feet in height, the 

 small flower-stems jointed near the base 

 of the flowers, which are greenish- white, 

 two or three together in the axils of the 

 leaves. 



P. JAPONICUM. A distinct plant, native 

 of Japan, hardy in this country, flowering 

 in early April, growing about 2 feet in 

 height, the leaves of a very firm leathery 

 texture, the flowers white, tinged purplish. 



P. LATIFOLIUM. It is a native of 

 Europe. A fine robust species, the stems 

 being from 2^ to 4 feet high, arching, the 



although usually given as a greenhouse 

 species. It will doubtless do best in a 

 sheltered spot, but even in the open it has 

 given me no trouble, and it is a good plant 

 for shady spots on the rock garden, the 

 habit graceful, 2 to 3 feet in height, leaves 

 glossy green ; the flowers white, marked 

 with reddish lines and dots, are borne in 

 bunches of from six to ten in the axils on 

 both sides in late summer. The fruit is 

 red when ripe. 



P. PUNCTATUM. From the temperate 

 Himalayas, where it is found at altitudes 

 of 7,000 to 11,000 feet, and hardy in our 

 gardens ; about 2 feet in height, the stem 

 angular, with hard leathery leaves, flowers 

 white, with lilac dots, two to three in a 

 bunch, in late summer. 



P. ROSEUM. This appears to vary con- 

 siderably in the length and breadth of its 

 leaves, in their being more or less whorled, 



