1422 



GYNURA 



GYPSOPHILA 



white pappus-bristles. The gynuras are attractive 

 glasshouse herbs, usually requiring a moderately high 

 temperature; prop, by cuttings. Genus allied to Senecio 

 and Cineraria; of about 40 species in Trop. Afr., Asia, 

 to Austral. 



aurantiaca, DC. VELVET TREE. Stout and branchy, 

 2-3 ft., with almost succulent sts. densely clothed with 

 violet or purple hairs: Ivs. large and soft, ovate, jagged- 

 toothed, hairy, short-pet ioled or the upper ones clasp- 

 ing, overlaid with iridescent purple: heads in a terminal 

 cluster, yellow or orange. Java. I.H. 28:436. A 

 handsome foliage plant. In winter it may be grown in 

 the conservatory or warmhouse, but in the summer it 

 may be bedded out in a warm and protected place. It 

 grows rapidly, and makes a most satisfactory display 

 of colored leafage. It is readily prop, by cuttings in the 

 house, as geraniums are. 



Other species, but not known to be in the American trade, are: 

 G. auriculata, Cass. (G. ovalis, DC. Cacalia ovalis, Ker). Only 

 slightly villous: Ivs. oval, entire or repand, green both sides: 

 fls. yellow, fragrant. China. B.R. 101. G. blcolor, DC. 2-3 ft., 

 of looser growth than the above, glabrous: Ivs. lance-ovate, some- 

 what downy, short-petioled, deep-toothed or pinnatifid, green above 

 and purple beneath: fls. orange. Moluccas. B.M. 5123. G. ovalis, 

 DC.=G. auriculata. G. sarmentdsa, DC. Climbing, with purple 

 glabrous sts.: Ivs. narrow, ovate to lanceolate, acuminate, petioled, 

 remotely small-toothed, green and purple-ribbed. Warmhouse 

 plant from Malayan Isls. B.M. 7244. L H R 



1773. Gypsophila 



elegans. 

 (Natural size) 



1772. Gypsophila muralis. 



GYPSOPHILA (gypsum-loving, because it likes cal- 

 careous soils). Caryophyllacese. European and Asian 

 herbs, bearing a profusion of small flowers, and useful 

 for mist-like effects in mixed borders and as trimming 

 in bouquets. 



Sepals 5, united below, but the calyx naked at the 

 base (not bracted, as in some related genera) 5-nerved ; 

 petals 5, clawed, very small, usually white, in some 

 horticultural forms pinkish; stamens 10; styles 2: pod 

 4-valved: Ivs. small, entire, opposite. Perhaps 75 

 species. Very branchy or spreading, slender herbs, 

 with scant foliage when in bloom. Of easiest cult, in 

 open, rather dry places. They are desirable for rock- 

 work. They make an excellent effect as filling amongst 

 shrubbery; also good for covering unkempt places with 

 a mass of delicate bloom. Hardy. 



A. Plant annual. 



muralis, Linn. Fig. 1772. One to 1^ ft., very diffuse 

 and branchy, mostly with shorter joints than G. elegans, 

 of finer appearance, the st. rough-hairy near the base, 

 smooth above: Ivs. linear, spurry-like: fls. small, rosy, 

 the petals almost recurved, crenate. Eu. Makes a 

 dense little mound when well grown. 



elegans, Bieb. Fig. 1773. One foot, repeatedly 

 forked-branched, glabrous: Ivs. sessile, the uppermost 

 linear, the lower oblong or spatulate: fls. white or some- 

 times (G. rosea, Hort., and in rare wild forms) rosy; 

 petals truncate, almost recurved, 2-5 times as long as 

 the calyx. Caucasus. Much cult., and handsome. 



AA. Plant perennial. 

 B. Lvs. short, spatulate: plant pubescent. 

 cerastioides, D. Don. Low, densely pubescent: Ivs. 

 pubescent, the radical ones long-petioled, the others 

 spatulate or obovate, obtuse or nearly 

 so: fls. large (often %in. across), white 

 or lilac, pink- veined. Himalayas. B.M. 

 6699. Gn. 47, p. 422. G. 35:433. Of 

 creeping habit; excellent for rockwork. 



BB. Lvs. perfoliate. 



perfoliata, Linn. (G. scorzonerifolia, 

 Hort.). A tall, thick and round- 

 stemmed perennial, usually glabrous, 

 but sometimes hairy near the summit: 

 Ivs. perfoliate, 5-nerved: fls. purplish, 

 the sepals only slightly shorter than 

 the petals. Medit. region. 



BBB. Lvs. long, not perfoliate: plant 



glabrous or nearly so. 

 paniculata. Linn. BABY'S BREATH. 

 Fig. 1774. Diffuse and rather tall-grow- 

 ing (2-3 ft.), forking: Ivs. linear-lan- 

 ceolate, the largest 3 in. long, but becoming smaller 

 toward the infl., sharp - pointed : fls. white, very 

 numerous; pedicels 2-3 times as long as the calyx. 

 Eu. Gn. 68, p. 162. A very popular plant, especially 

 for use in the trimming of bouquets. A most grace- 

 ful subject. Sts. stiff and wiry, therefore excellent 

 for cutting. A picture of its use in floral arrange- 

 ment will be found in A.F. 6:340. Var. flore-pleno, 

 Hort., with double fls. has been advertised, but is 

 little known in Amer. Gn. 60, p. 103. A.F. 19:767. 

 In places where the double form is difficult of cult., 

 it is recommended that it be grafted on roots of G. 

 paniculata. 



acutifolia, Fisch. Very like the last, but the plant 

 greener, the Ivs. narrower (indistinctly 3-nerved) 

 and the pedicels scarcely longer than the calyx. 

 Caucasus. G. paniculata seems sometimes to be 

 cult, under this name. 



Stevenii, Fisch. (G. glauca, Hort.). Lower than 

 G. paniculata, glaucous-green: Ivs. linear-lanceolate 

 and carinate, mostly radical: fls. rather larger, 



white, the panicles smaller than those of .G. paniculata.; 



petals shorter than the 



calyx. Caucasus, 

 repens, Linn. (G. pros- 



trata, Hort., not of 



Linn.). Sts. trailing or 



prostrate, ascending at 



the ends, not glau- 

 cous: Ivs. linear, sharp- 

 pointed, glabrous: fls. 



rather large, white, the 



petals about twice longer 



than the sepals and the 



pedicels usually much 



longer. Alps and Pyre- 

 nees. B.M. 1448. Best 



adapted to the rockery, 



and the mixed border; 



blooms from midsum- 

 mer to autumn. Var. 



monstr osa, Hort.. is 



larger but otherwise the 



same. Var. rosea, Hort., 



has rose-colored fls. and 



is frequently sold as G. 



prostrata rosea, also as G. 



carminea, Hort., which 



does not seem to differ. 



N. TAYLOR.f 1774. Gypsophila paniculata. 



