XERANTHEMUM 



bushy habit, with somewhat smaller heads. X. varius, 

 Hort., is a trade name for mixed varieties. 



X. inapterum. Mill. (X. erectum. Presl.) has white heruls of 

 which the scales are little or not at all open or spreading. S. 

 Eu. to S. W. Asia. L. H. B. 



XEROPHYLLT/M (Greek, dry leaf). Liliacem. Tur- 

 key's Beard. The Turkey's Beard of our eastern states 

 is a strong perennial herb, 

 3 or 4 ft. high, resembling 

 the asphodel. It has a 

 dense tuft of numerous 

 long, wiry leaves from the 

 center of which springs a 

 stately shaft sometimes 5 

 ft. high, with an oval or 

 oblong raceme C in. long, 

 crowded with yellowish 

 white b' -parted fls., each 

 "% in. across. It blooms 

 from May to July, fls. with 

 delicate fragrance lasting a 

 long time. It is a hand- 

 somer plant than the as- 

 phodel, but, like many 

 other native plants, its 

 beauty was first appreci- 

 ated in England and it has 

 only lately found favor in 

 American gardens. A*\ 

 setifolium, or asphodeloides 

 as it is known to the trade, 

 is considered one of the 

 choicest plants for English 

 bog gardens. The posses- 

 sion of several large clumps 

 is especially to be desired, 

 as each plant flowers so 

 freely that it requires a 

 year or two to recover. 

 Unfortunately the plant 

 does not seed freely and 

 propagation by division is 

 a slow process which must 

 be performed with great 

 care in the spring. It 

 needs a moist and some- 

 what shaded situation and 

 a peaty soil. The probabil- 

 ity is that the Turkey's 

 Beard can be grown in any 

 sandy soil that has been 

 liberally enriched with 

 well-rotted leaf - mold in a 

 spot that is reasonably dry 

 in winter. The species is 

 a native of the dry pine 

 barrens from southern N. 

 J. to eastern Tenn. and Ga. 

 The chief species of the 

 Pacific coast, X. tenax, has 

 white and violet flowers, 

 the latter color supplied by 

 the stamens. Each region 

 should cultivate its own 

 species. The forms are 

 too much alike for the 

 same garden. A third spe- 

 cies, S. Douglasii, is a rare 

 plant ranging from Mon- 

 tana to Oregon. It is dis- 

 tinguished by its 6-valved 

 capsule and is said to 

 be inferior as a garden plant to the other species. 



Xerophyllums are tall perennial herbs with short 

 thick, woody rootstocks, unbranched leafy stems and 

 Unear, rough-edged leaves, the upper ones shorter 

 *han the lower: fls. small, white, in a large, dense ra- 

 ceme, the lower fls. opening first; perianth-segments 

 oblong or ovate, 5-7-nerved, devoid of glands; stamens 

 6: ovary 3-grooved; styles 3, reflexed or recurved: 

 capsule loculicidally and sometimes also septicidally 

 dehiscent. Watson in Proc. Am. Acad. Arts. Sci. 14:284. 



XEROPIIYLLUM 



1997 



A. Raceme S-6 in. long or more: perianth-segments ex- 

 ceeding the stamens: Irs. one line or less wide. 



setildlium, Michx. (A", asphodeloides, Nutt.). Fig. 

 2759. A tall hardy perennial herb described above. 

 Varies in height from 1-4 ft. Found in the pine bar- 

 rens, eastern U. S. B.M. 748 and L.B.C. 4:394 (both 

 as Helonius asphodeloides). Gng. 1:173. A.F. 7:171. 



2759. Xerophyll 



Browing near the margin of a pond. 



and p. 527; 27, p. 224; 58, p. 15. G.C. II 



Gn. 39:, 



13:433. 



AA. JRaceme 1-2 ft. long; perianth -segments scarcely 



equaling the stamens: Irs. about 2 lines widt. 



pedicels longer, mostly 1-2 in. long. 

 tenax, Nutt. Distinguished from eastern' species by 

 characters indicated above. Ranges from Calif, to Brit. 

 Col. and varies in height from 2-5 ft. June, July. B.R. 

 19:1613 (erroneously as A", seti folium). ^ jj 



