228 HARDY PERENNIALS AND 



Ramondia Pyrenaica. 

 Syns. CHAIXIA MYCONI and VERBASCUM MYCONI; Nat. Ord> 



SOLANACE^I. 



THIS is a very dwarf and beautiful alpine plant, from the 

 Pyrenees, the one and only species of the genus. Although 

 it is sometimes called a Verbascum or Mullien, it is widely 

 distinct from all the plants of that family. To lovers of dwarf 

 subjects this must be one of the most desirable ; small as it is, 

 it is full of character. 



The flowers, when held up to a good light, are seen to be 

 downy and of ice-like transparency ; they are of a delicate, pale, 

 violet colour, and a little more than an inch in diameter, pro- 

 duced on stems Sin. to 4in. high, which are nearly red, and 

 furnished with numerous hairs ; otherwise the flower stems are 

 nude, seldom more than two flowers, and oftener only one bloom 

 is seen on a stem. The pedicels, which are about half-an-inch 

 long, bend downwards, but the flowers, when fully expanded, 

 rise a little; the calyx is green, downy, five-parted, the divi- 

 sions being short and reflexed at their points ; the corolla is 

 rotate, flat, and, in the case of flowers several days old, thrown 

 back ; the petals are nearly round, slightly uneven, and waved 

 at the edges, having minute protuberances at their base tipped 

 with bright orange, shading to white ; the seed organs are very 

 prominent; stamens arrow-shaped; pistil more than twice the 

 length of filaments and anthers combined, white, tipped with 

 green. The leaves are arranged in very flat rosettes, the latter 

 being from four to eight inches across. The foliage is entirely 

 stemless, the nude flower stalks issuing from between the leaves, 

 which are roundly toothed, evenly and deeply wrinkled, and 

 elliptical in outline. Underneath, the ribs are very prominent, 

 and the covering of hairs rather long, as are also those of the 

 edges. On the upper surface the hairs are short and stiff. 



In the more moist interstices of rockwork, where, against and 

 between large stones, its roots will be safe from drought, it will 

 not only be a pleasing ornament, but will be likely to thrive and 

 flower well. It is perfectly hardy, but there is one condition of 

 our climate which tries it very much the wet, and alternate 

 frosts and thaws of winter. From its hairy character and flat 

 form, the plant is scarcely ever dry, and rot sets in. This is 

 more especially the case with specimens planted flat ; it is 

 therefore a great help against such climatic conditions to place 

 the plants in rockwork, so that the rosettes are as nearly as 

 possible at right angles with the ground level. Another inte- 

 resting way to grow this lovely and valuable species is in pans 

 or large pots, but this system requires some shelter in winter, as 

 the plants will be flat. The advantages of this mode are that 

 five or six specimens so grown are very effective. They can, 



