

306 





THE DICTIONARY OF GARDENING, 



Lychnis continued. 



cultivation ; the double form, however, is the more attractive 

 one, and is one of the best plants of this genus for borders. It 

 is increased only by divisions. 



L. FlOS-CUCUlL Cuckoo Flower ; Ragged Robin. /. red ; panicle 

 loose, terminal, forked, clammy ; calyx purplish-red, the ten ribs 

 darker ; petals divided into four linear segments, the middle one 

 the longest. Summer. 1. few, linear-lanceolate, h. 1ft. to 2ft. 

 Europe (Britain), Siberia. A well-known and common plant, 

 occurring in nearly all marshy places. (Sy. En. B. 212.) The 

 double-flowered form is a most desirable plant for borders. 



L. flos-JoTls (Flower of Jove). A synonym of Agrostemma flog- 

 Jovis. 



L fuleens (brilliant).*/, brilliant vermilion, large, handsome, 

 disposed in fastigiate corymbs ; petals four-cleft, outer segments 

 awf-shaped ; calyx terete, woolly. Spring and summer. * ovate- 

 lanceolate, hairy, h. 6in. to 12in. Siberia, 1822. See Fig. 487. 

 (B. M. 2104.) 



FIG. 488. COROLLA OF LYCHNIS FULGENS GRANDIFLORA. 



L. f. grandiflora (large-flowered), fl. scarlet, about 2in. across, 

 solitary, or in threes, terminal and axillary; petals prettily 

 lacerated. Summer and autumn. I. ovate, almost sessile, 

 smooth, h. Sin. to 12in. China, 1774. This variety requires a 

 warm border. See Fig. 488. 



FIG. 489. COROLLA OF LYCHNIS FULG 



L, f. Haageana (Haage's).* fl. brilliant scarlet, about 2in. across, 

 in twos or threes ; petals broadly obovate, indented on the top, and 

 furnished with two long teeth at the side ; calyx shaggy, inflated, 

 angular. Summer. I. large, lanceolate, acuminate, hairy, 

 purplish underneath. Stems very shaggy. A garden hybrid, 

 probably from L. fulgent. It is a showy and exceedingly hand- 

 some border plant. See Fig. 489. (R. G. 391.) There are nume- 

 rous varieties of it, affording nearly every shade of colour, from 

 scarlet to pure white. 



L. f. Sieboldi (Siebold's). fl.. pure white, very large ; cyme con- 

 tracted, terminal, few-flowered; petals wedge-shaped, irregular, 

 margins jagged, slightly two-lobed. Summer. I. sessile, lower 

 ones oblong, middle and upper ones ovate-oblong, acute, entire, 

 soft and downy, h. 1ft. Japan. See Fig. 490. 



L. Lagascco (Lagasca's).* fl. bright rose, with white centres, less 

 than lin. in diameter. Spring and summer. /. obovate or oblong, 

 somewhat coriaceous, slightly glaucous, h. Sin. Pyrenees, 1867. 



Lychnis continued. 



An elegant little compact-growing and tufted plant for rockwork ; 

 it thrives best on sunny slopes. SYN. Petrocoptis pyrenawa. 

 (B. M. 5746.) 



FIG. 490. COROLLA OF LYCHNIS FULGENS SIEBOLDI. 



L. oculata (eyed), fl. pinkish-purple, the emarginate petals 

 having an intense purple spot at the base ; appendage shortly 

 ovate ; calyx suddenly contracted below the middle, the angles 

 clavate, rugoso-crispate. July. Algiers, 1843. SYN. Viscaria 

 oculata (under which name it is figured in B. M. 4075 and 

 B. R. 1843, 53). 



L. Preslii (Presl's). A. purplish, nearly lin. in diameter, nume- 

 rously produced in forked, panicled clusters, and having reddish 

 bracts ; corona fringed, satiny-rose ; calyx reddish, much inflated. 

 Summer. L, root ones numerous, oval-lanceolate or obovate 

 acuminated, decurrent, in rosettes ; those of the stem oval 

 obtuse, entire, much-veined, dark green, h. 1ft. to lift. Bolivia. 

 L. pyrenaica (Pyrenean).* fl. pale flesh-colour, about iin. across, 

 disposed in forked clusters ; pedicels long, one-flowered ; petals 

 slightly notched; calyx bell-shaped. Summer. I. opposite, 

 glaucous, root ones spathulate, those of the stem cordate, 

 sessile, h. Sin. to 4in. Pyrenees, 1819. (B. M. 3269.) 

 L. vespertina (evening-flowering).* fl. white, emitting a pleasant 

 odour in the evening, and disposed in loose terminal panicles ; 

 calyx over Jin. long, hairy, ribbed; petals cleft. Summer. 

 I. opposite, connate, oval-oblong, acuminated, tapering at the 

 base, hairy. Stems purplish, swelling at the joints, h. 1ft. to 

 3ft. Europe (Britain), Asia, &c. The double-flowered form is 

 that most usually cultivated. 



It. Viscaria (clammy).* German Catch-fly, fl. rosy, in close 

 heads ; petals bifid ; calyx tubular, narrow, about Mn. long. 

 Summer. I. opposite, narrow-lanceolate, with a slightly woolly 

 fringe at the base. Stems smooth, clammy in the upper part. 

 ft. 1ft. Europe (Britain), Siberia. There are several very desir- 

 able varieties of this pretty plant ; the double-flowered form, and 

 the one with deep red flowers, known as splendens, are espe- 

 cially so. 



LYCIOFLESIUM. A synonym of Latna (which 

 see). 



LYCITTM (from Lukion, a name given to the Rhamnns 

 by Dioscorides, as coming 1 from Lycia, in Asia Minor). 

 Box Thorn. ORB. Solanacece. An extensive genus (about 

 seventy species have been described) of hardy or nearly 

 hardy, deciduous, climbing or trailing, often spiny, shrubs 

 or small trees. Flowers whitish, pale violet, pink, scarlet, 

 or yellowish, small, variously disposed ; corolla funnel- 

 shaped. Leaves simple, entire or nearly so. The species 

 are very free-flowering, and are admirably adapted for 

 training against trellis-work or walls. They thrive in 

 almost any well-drained and porous soil. Propagation is 

 easily effected, in autumn or spring, by cuttings, by 

 layers, or by suckers. In all probability, the only species 

 introduced are those described below, whio'i are all 

 hardy. 



L. afrnm (African).* fl. violet, almost axillary, solitary, drooping. 

 June and July. I. fascicled, linear, canescent, attenuated at the 

 base, obtuse, fleshy, h. 6ft. to 10ft. North Africa, 1712. An 

 ornamental, erect, spiny shrub. (B..R. 354 ; S. B. F. G. 324.) 

 I., barbarnm (Barbary).* fl., twin, extra-axillary, pedicellate; 

 corolla with a purple limb and a yellowish base. May to August. 

 I. lanceolate, flat, glabrous, acute. Branches angular, dependent. 

 North Asia, 1696. An ornamental climbing shrub. 

 L. chinense (Chinese), fl. purple ; peduncles much longer than 

 the entire calyx. May. I. in threes, ovate, acute, attenuated at 

 the base. Branches pendulous, prostrate, striated. China. A 

 climbing shrub, very closely allied to L. europceum, but the tube 

 of the corolla is shorter, and constricted in the middle. 



