EKEMOSTACHYS 



THE BULB BOOK 



EREMUEUS 



flowers, seated on bright green divided 

 involucres, appear in great profusion 

 early in the New Year, and continue 

 well into March. 



B. cilicica is closely related, but 

 has more finely divided leaves; 

 and B. sibirica is distinguished by 

 having only five oval sepals. 



CULTURE. The Winter Aconites 

 flourish in any good and well-drained 

 garden soil, E. hyemalis being practi- 

 cally naturalised. To secure a fine 

 effect the tubers should be planted 

 thickly about 3 or 4 ins. apart in 

 early autumn, and about 3 or 4 ins. 

 deep. The most suitable positions 

 are beneath early-flowering deciduous 

 trees and shrubs, such as Forsythias, 

 Almonds, Plums, Spiraeas, Lilacs, 

 Flowering Currants, etc., or on banks 

 or borders, where their bright colour 

 will be appreciated early in the year. 

 Indeed, the Winter Aconites might 

 be used with greater freedom in 

 shrubberies of all kinds with such 

 early-flowering bulbs as Snowdrops, 

 Scillas, Chionodoxas, Crocuses, etc. 

 About April and May the plants die 

 down, and rest during the summer 

 months, growth recommencing in 

 early autumn. The plants may then 

 be increased if necessary by dividing 

 the tuberous roots and replanting. 

 When the seeds in the follicles are 

 thoroughly ripe they may be sown 

 in rich sandy soil, but they usually 

 remain dormant until the following 

 spring. Even then growth only lasts 

 for a few weeks, the resulting 

 tubercle being only about the size 

 of a pin's head. At the end of three 

 or four years it becomes large enough 

 to flower. 



EREMOSTACHYS (eremos, deserted, 

 solitary ; stachys, a spike ; referring 

 to the flowers being sparsely arranged 

 on the spikes). Nat. Ord. Labiatae. 



206 



The only species worth noting 

 here is 



E. laciniata (Phloniis laciniata). 

 A pretty hardy perennial 4 to 6 ft. 

 high, with thick fleshy roots and 

 tufts of thick downy leaves each 

 6 ins. or more long, pinnately cut into 

 oblong lance-shaped or linear seg- 

 ments, with deeply jagged margins. 

 The rosy- or bronzy-purple flowers 

 appear from June to August, the 

 upper lobe being yellow and hairy. 

 From eight to twelve whorls, each hav- 

 ing from ten to twenty flowers, are 

 borne on each spike. The variety 

 known as iberica orjlava has less hairy 

 yellow flowers. 



This plant flourishes in light rich 

 soil, but being a native of S.E. 

 Europe, it should have a warm, sunny, 

 and sheltered position. It looks 

 well in bold masses in the border, or 

 in beds on the grass, planted about 

 3 ft. apart. Propagation is effected 

 by sowing seeds when ripe, or in 

 spring, or by cuttings of the young 

 shoots in spring. It takes from two 

 to three years for seedlings to arrive 

 at the flowering stage. 



EREMUBUS (eremos, solitary ; 

 oura, a tail; referring to the long, 

 tail-like spike of flowers). Nat. Ord. 

 Liliacese. A genus of noble and 

 ornamental herbaceous plants having 

 short rhizomes and clusters of slender 

 or thick fleshy roots. The long linear 

 leaves spring from the root-stocks, 

 and the white, reddish, or yellow 

 bell-shaped or rotate flowers are 

 borne on tall, sometimes very high, 

 simple leafless scapes, each blossom 

 being solitary in the axil of the often 

 scarious bracts. The segments are 

 free, or very slightly united at the 

 base, one- to five-nerved. Stamens six, 

 hypogynous, often longer than the 

 segments, and usually protandrous. 



The Eremuri are among the finest 



