486 



PLANTS AND MAN 



yellow or purple flowers have been introduced from the Medi- 

 terranean region. Candytuft is a low growing Eurasian plant 

 with compact clusters of small white flowers, each with two of 

 the four petals larger than the others. 



The Violet Family has contributed one of the most familiar 

 garden flowers — the pansy. A pansy is in reality a large-flowered 



violet derived from the wild 

 pansy or heartsease of Europe. 

 As a result of centuries of 

 breeding a number of varieties 

 of pansies in single and mixed 

 colors — chiefly yellow, white, 

 blue and purple — have been 

 produced. 



The Pea Family, in addi- 

 tion to furnishing us with 

 numerous attractive wild 

 flowers and food plants, in- 

 cludes the ornamental lupine 

 and sweet pea. In spite of the 

 fact that there are numerous 

 native lupines (see p. 445), 

 the garden varieties come 

 from European species; these 

 are ordinarily yellow, blue or 

 white in color. The sw^eet pea 

 is a Mediterranean species 

 which produces flowers in numerous shades of blue, red and 

 yellow as well as white. 



Roses, like carnations, are garden plants of great antiquity. 

 The usual five petals of the rose flower is increased in the double 

 flowered varieties by the transformation of stamens into petals. 

 The majority of our ornamental varieties are of European or 

 Oriental ancestry. Sweet briar or eglantine roses are pink 

 flowered European species; and from Europe also comes the 

 white flowered musk rose. The familiar rambler rose with white, 

 pink or red flowers is a native of China and Japan; and from 

 China comes also the delicately tinted tea roses. A common 



Fig. 301.— The Mustard Family 

 includes such ornamental flowers as 

 stock (A), sweet alyssum (B), and 

 candytuft (C). 



