1308 



GAILLARDIA 



GALANTHUS 



2:345. Gn. 45, p. 325. A.F. 5:329. This is the com- 

 mon perennial gaillardia of gardens (cult, under many 

 names). Blooms the first year from seed. From G. 

 pulchella it is distinguished by taller growth, firmer lys., 

 yellower heads, and less attenuate lobes of the disk- 

 fls.; but it is practically impossible to distinguish the 

 two, except that one is annual and the other perennial. 



N. TAYLOR, f 



GALACTIA (from the Greek, milk; some species 

 said to yield a milky juice, which is improbable). 

 Leguminbsse. Prostrate or twining, perennial herbs or 

 shrubs, mostly of the warm regions of America, only 

 seldom cultivated. 



Plants usually with pinnately 3-9-foliate Ivs., and 

 axillary, interrupted racemes of perfect, more or less 

 perigynous fls. : calyx short, 4-lobed, bracted; corolla 

 papilionaceous; standard broad; stamens 10, diadel- 

 phous; ovary 1, superior, 1-celled, with many ovules; 

 style beardless: fr. a linear, straight or slightly curved 

 legume. Cleistogamous fls. sometimes produced. There 

 are many species, but of very little horticultural value. 

 The two following have been advertised in the past 

 but are probably not now on the market. 



regularis, BSP. (G. glabella, Michx.). Lvs. with 3 

 Ifts. : panicles mainly shorter than the Ivs.: Ifts. ellip- 

 tical, often notched at the tip, 1-2 in. long, glabrous: 

 corolla violet-purple. Dry sandy soil, N. Y. to Fla. 

 and Miss. B.B. 2:335. 



Elliottii, Nutt. Lvs. with 7-9 Ifts.: panicles longer 

 than the Ivs.: Ifts. elliptic-oblong, notched, pubescent 

 beneath, ^-1 % "? long: corolla white tinged with 

 red. Dry sandy soil, S. C. to Fla., along the coast. 



K. M. WlEGAND. 



GALANTHUS (Greek, milk flower). Amaryllidacese. 

 SNOWDROP. Spring-blooming bulbs (one autumnal), 

 with solid scapes and solitary nodding white flowers. 

 Bulb tunicated, small: Ivs. 2-3, strap-shaped: peri- 

 anth without tube, outer and inner segms. unlike; 

 stamens 6: fr. a 3-valved caps., more or less fleshy. 

 Probably a half-dozen species, in Eu. and W. Asia. The 

 flowers of snowdrops (G. nivalis, Fig. 1615) are amongst 

 the smallest and daintiest of common hardy cult, 

 spring-blooming bulbs. They often bloom in early 

 March, before all the snow has gone. Their pendulous 

 white fls., with the "heart-shaped seal of green" dear 

 to Rossetti, hold a unique place in the affections of 

 lovers of gardens. At first sight the fls. seem to have 

 3 large white petals, inclosing a green-and-white tube 

 with 6 tips, but a second glance 

 shows that the parts that func- 

 tion as petals are the outer 

 segms. of the perianth, while the 

 3 inner ones, with their 2-lobed 

 tips, are not grown together, but 

 overlap slightly, 

 forming a rather 

 crude but stiffish 

 tube. Each plant has 

 a globose coated bulb, 

 2-3 Ivs., grows 6-9 in. 

 high, and bears usu- 

 ally only 1 nodding 

 fl., which emerges 

 from a spathe. 

 Behind the perianth 

 is the globose green 

 ovary. 



In a congenial 

 )t, moist, cool and 



shady, the plants in- 

 crease satisfactorily, 

 1<51 - and sometimes, with- 



The snowdrop out an y care what- 

 Galanthus nivalis. ever, form a bed from 

 which thousands of 



flowers may be picked at what is, perhaps, the most 

 desolate and wearisome moment of the year. The 

 leaves are linear and channeled, and in dark, shining 

 masses make a rich, quiet effect. They come out with 

 the flowers, attain their full growth later, and com- 

 monly die down in midsummer or fall. The bulbs are 

 cheap, and should be ordered in liberal quantities. 

 Plant in the autumn, as for other hardy bulbs; set 3 

 to 4 inches deep in mellow soil, and close together. 



An era of new interest in snowdrops began about 

 1875, with the introduction of the "giant" kind (G. 

 Elwesii, Fig. 1616), but those who do not care for "large 

 violets" will be likely to cling to the small snowdrops. 

 Nevertheless, G. Elwesii is very distinct, and should 

 be the first choice if any large kinds are desired, and to 

 secure the best forms the connoisseur should buy 

 imported bulbs of its varieties. The only kinds known 

 so far to possess a patch of green at the base of the inner 

 segments are G. Elwesii and G. Fosteri. Considering 

 that there are only two main types in this genus, G. 

 nivalis and G. Elwesii, the profusion of Latin names 

 (especially since 1888, the date of Baker's "Hand- 

 book of the Amaryllidese") is rather trying, except 

 to the connoisseur who, unlike the general public, is 

 chiefly interested in the larger-flowered forms and the 

 novelties. 



There are several types of minor importance. The 

 autumn-flowering kinds, representing many Latin 

 names, as G. octobrensis, G. corcyrensis, G. Regime- 

 Olgse, are usually weak-growing plants. However, 

 much is hoped from G. cilicicus, especially by the 

 florists, who have hitherto found no snowdrop that 

 could be profitably forced for Christmas. Doubleness 

 seems to add nothing to the beauty of snowdrops. So 

 far it seems to have affected only the inner segments 

 of G. nivalis and G. Elwesii. Yellow snowdrops are 

 also practically unknown in America. In these the 

 heart-shaped spot and the ovary are yellow instead of 

 green. Of these, G. flavescens is perhaps one of the 

 best. 



INDEX. 



byzantinus, 12. Gotwaldii, 12. octobrinus, 1. 



Cassaba, 5. graecus, 6. plicatus, 10. 



caucasicus, 4. grandiflorus, 11. poculiformis, 5. 



cilicicus, 2. Ikarise. 8. Redoutei, 4. 



corcyrensis, 1. Imperati, 3. reflexus, 1. 



Elwesii, 5. latifolius, 7. robustus, 5. 



Erithrse, 5. maximus, 4, 11. Sharlpckii, 1. 



flavescens, 1. nivalis. 1. unguiculatus, 5. 



Fosteri, 9. ochrospilus, 5. WhMallii, 5. 



globosua, 5. octobrensis, 1. 



A. Lvs. merely channeled, not plaited. 



B. Width of Ivs. small, 8-4 lines. 



c. Base of Ivs. not very narrow. 



1. nivalis, Linn. (G. Shdrlockii, Hort.). COMMON 

 SNOWDROP. Figs. 1615, 1616. Bulb 6712 lines thick: 

 basal sheath split down one side: Ivs. linear, glaucous, 

 finally 6-9 in. long: outer perianth -segms. oblong, 

 6-12 lines long; inner segms. green only at the sinus. 

 Feb., March. Pyrenees to Caucasus. R.H. 1880, p. 

 148. G.M. 34:154. G.C. II. 11:237. Gt. 48, p. 232. 

 There are large-fld. and double forms. Var. corcyrensis 

 and others flower in Nov. G.W. 2, p. 250. At least 2 

 varieties have yellow instead of green markings. Var. 

 flavescens, S. Arn. The markings on the inner segms. 

 of the perianth and on the ovary are yellow, and the 

 sts. are more yellow than green. Useful for Alpine gar- 

 dens. G. 31:149. Var. reflexus has outer segms. 

 reflexed. G.M. 34:155. Var. octobrensis (var. octo- 

 brinus, Voss. G. octobrensis, Hort.) . Albania. Known 

 in cult, as a form blooming in England late in Oct. 



cc. Base of Ivs. very narrow. 



2. cilicicus, Baker. Less robust than G. Fosteri, with 

 much narrower Ivs., which are narrowed gradually 

 from the middle to a very narrow base. Green color 

 as in G. nivalis. Bulb J^in. thick: Ivs. whitish beneath: 



