838 



CONVOLVULUS 



CONVALLARIA (old nameLilium convallium, derived 

 from convallis, a valley). Liliaceae. LILY-OF-THE-V AL- 

 LEY. A dainty herb, much prized for its erect racemes 

 of white delicately-scented flowers; perennial. 



Leaves radical, from a horizontal rootstock, produc- 

 ing upright parts or pips (Fig. 1044) : fls. white (some- 

 times pink-tinged), small and short-bell-shaped, with 

 short blunt recurved lobes, nodding, in a short, radical, 

 raceme (Fig. 1045), the stamens 6 included, style 1 

 (Fig. 1046); fr. a globular small few-seeded red berry. 

 Commonly considered to be only one species, native 

 in Asia, Eu., and in the higher mts., Va. to S. C.; of 

 several similar races or types. 



Lily-of-the-valley is much prized for its delicate, 

 sweet-scented flowers. The rhizome and roots are sold 

 in drug-stores: they are poisonous in large doses; in 

 small doses used as a heart tonic. The plant is popu- 

 larly supposed to be the one referred to in the Sermon 

 on the Mount, but this is 

 not to be determined. It is 

 essentially a shade -loving 

 plant. The species is C. ma- 

 jalis, Linn. Lvs. oblong or 

 oval, thick and persisting till 

 autumn, forming a dense sod, 

 plane, with more or less 

 bloom : racemes 5-10 in. high : 

 berry Kin. diam. R.H. 1886: 

 84. Gn. 47, p. 179; 52:182 

 and p. 319 (the latter in 

 fruit). A.F. 13:402. Gng. 

 5:56-7. F.R. 2:4. G.C. III. 

 23 : 149 (var. grandiflora) . 

 Lowe, 42 (var variegata). 



The plant is hardy, and is 

 easily grown in partially 

 shaded places and moder- 

 ately rich ground. Old beds 

 are liable to run out. The 

 roots and runners become 

 crowded, and few good flower- 

 stems are produced. It is 

 best to replant the beds every 

 few years with vigorous 

 fresh clumps, which have 

 been grown for the purpose 

 in some out-of-the-way place. Five or six strong 

 pips, with their side growths, planted close together, 

 will form a good clump in two years if not allowed to 

 spread too much. The mats of clean foliage make 

 attractive carpets under trees and in other shady 



E laces. If the bed is made rich and top-dressed every 

 ill, it may give good results for four or five years; and 

 plants in such beds thrive in full sunshine. One form 

 has prettily striped foliage, very ornamental in the early 

 part of the season. Lilies-of-the-valley bloom early in 

 spring. They run wild in many old yards, in cemeteries, 

 and along shady road-sides. There are double-flowered 

 forms; also one (var. prolificans) with racemes 2 feet 

 long. (J.B.Keller.) 



For culture as a florist's flower, see Lily-of-the- 

 valley. 



Recent studies of this genus by E. L. Greene, have distinguished 

 3 other species: C. japdnica, Greene, representing the Japanese 

 form of the plant: rootstock very short and stout: Ivs. 2 only, sub- 

 equal, elliptic, cuspidately acute, bright green with no trace of 

 bloom on either surface: peduncle short, about equaling the bases 

 of the Ivs.; raceme few-fid., the bracts small, ovate-lanceolate- 

 perianth widely opening, broadly bell-shaped or almost saucer- 

 shaped; stamens large, very short, the very obtuse anthers longer 

 than the filaments. C. globdsa, Greene. Herbage light green, 

 without trace of bloom: Ivs. with a more fibrous and less fleshy 

 anatomy than those of C. majalis, and of shorter duration, disap- 

 pearing by the end of summer: perianth urn-shaped (not bell- 

 shaped); stamens inserted about the middle of the perianth, 

 extending horizontally (rather than vertically, as in C. majalis).' 

 Probably. N. C., but described from plants growing in a wild gar- 

 den in Washington, D. C.; later-blooming than C. majalis. C. 

 majuscula, Greene. Differs from C. majalis in its very large light 

 green Ivs., which have no trace of bloom and an excessively fibrous 



1044. Lily-of-the-valley pip. 



anatomy which makes the growing If. to Io9k plicate; more than 

 twice larger than C. majalis, later-blooming: perianth broadly 

 bell-shaped; filaments very short, nearly hypogynous, erect; 

 anthers large, oblong, obtuse, cordate at base. S.E. Pa., and south- 



L. H. B. 



CONVOLVULUS (Latin, convolve, to entwine). Con- 

 volvulaceae. Includes Calystcgia. BINDWEED. Annual 

 and perennial herbs, grown mostly in the open; some 

 are twiners. 



Sometimes suffrutescent, 

 twining, trailing, erect or as- 

 cending, with filiform, creeping 

 rpotstocks: Ivs. petiolate, en- 

 tire, toothed or lobed, gener- 

 ally cordate or sagittate: fls. 

 axillary, solitary or loosely 

 cymose, mostly opening only 

 in early morning; corolla cam- 

 panulate or funnelform, the 

 limb plaited, 5-angled, 5-lobed 

 or entire. A genus of about 

 175 species, widely distributed 

 in temperate and tropical 

 regions. Convolvulus and 

 Calystegia are no longer kept 

 separate. As Convolvulus 

 Septum is the type of both 

 genera, they are therefore 

 synonymous. When the fls. of 

 C. occidentalis are borne singly, 

 the calyx bracts are broad and 

 Calystegia-like; when borne in 

 clusters the bracts are greatly 

 reduced. 



The species thrive in a va- 

 riety of soils without especial 

 care. The greenhouse species 

 do best in a soil with consider- 

 able fiber. The hardy peren- 

 nials are usually propagated 

 by dividing the roots, other- 

 wise by cuttings or seeds, the 

 tender species preferably by 

 cuttings. C. tricolor is the most 

 important of the hardy annuals. It may also be 

 started in the greenhouse, and makes an excellent 

 plant for the hanging-basket. All are vigorous 

 growers, and may become troublesome weeds in 

 some places if not kept within bounds. C. japoni- 

 cus and C. Sepium should be used with caution. 

 This is the chief reason why the hardy perennials 

 are not often found in well-kept gardens, except along 

 wire fences or lattice screens, where the turf is laid up 

 close so as to allow only a narrow border for the roots. 

 The double-flowered form of C. japonicus is seen to best 

 advantage in half-wild places, or on rocky banks, 

 where shrubs make but a stunted growth. Here it 

 will grow luxuriantly, forming graceful festoons from 

 branch to branch, and covering the ground with a pretty 

 mantle of green. (J. B. Keller.) 



C. pur pur ens, the common morning-glory, and many 

 related species are to be found under Ipomcea. 



INDEX. 



1045. Raceme of 

 Lily-of-the-valley. 



(Natural size) 



americanus, 8. longipes, 4. 



aridus, 4. malacophyllus, 2. 



atriplicifolius, 2. mauritanicus, 6. 



aureus superbus, 11. minor, 10. 



Be~ryi, 2. occidentalis, 4. 



Binghamix, 4. oleaefolius, 9. 



californicus, 1. polymorphus, 4. 



Cneorum, 8. pubescens, 3. 



compactus, 10. purpuratus, 4. 



cyclostegius, 4. repens, 5. 



deltoideus, 2. saxicola, 2. 



gracilentus, 4. Scammonia, 7. 



, Greenei, 4. Sepium, 5. 



of hly-of-the-valley, laid m ecebrosiis> 4. tricolor, 10. 



open to show the parts, interior, 5. villosus, 1. 



( X2) japonicus, 3. vittatus, 10. 



1046. Section of flower 



