186 ROCK GARDENING FOR AMATEURS 



live soil, placed on a flat or sloping rock, soon form 

 mounds of evergreen rosettes, whilst they may also 

 be planted in the crevices of walls, or sunny ledges 

 where there is little or no soil. As long as there is the 

 smallest root hold, these hardy little plants will thrive. 

 There are a great number of species in cultivation, as 

 well as hybrids innumerable, and there is probably more 

 confusion of names in this genus than in any other. The 

 character of the rosette alters from time to time, and 

 two plants that are identical at one period of the year 

 are totally distinct at another. Some of the most distinct 

 are named below. 



S. Allioni is an Austrian plant, also known as S. 

 cornutum, with globular rosettes of incurved leaves, 

 and yellow flowers. 



5. arachnoideum. The Cobweb Houseleek is a great 

 favourite, and is very common in the European Alps, 

 growing on rocky ledges in full sun, forming large masses 

 of rosettes. In such positions they are very beautiful, 

 each rosette having a maze of white threads connecting 

 all the leaf-tips together. The flowers, which open in 

 June, are bright red in colour, several on a short, leafy 

 stem. There are other forms of this, including S. 

 Laggeri, a large variety, only differing in size from the 

 type. 



S. arenarium. The sand-loving Houseleek is a neat 

 little plant from the Austrian Alps, with small rosettes 

 of green leaves, and pale yellow flowers during the summer 

 months. 



