DESCRIPTIVE LIST OF THE BEST KINDS 231 



stony loam in a sunny place among the rocks. It is 

 native of the European Alps, and belongs to the Daisy 

 family (Compositae). The woolly flower-heads, on stalks 

 some six inches high, rise from a loose tuft of rather narrow 

 grey leaves in June. Leontopodium alpinum is the 

 favourite kind. It may be raised from seeds sown in 

 late summer or spring, or the plants may be divided in 

 early September. Lime is necessary in the soil. 



Lewisia. The Lewisias, which belong to the Purslane 

 family (Portulaceae), comprise some very interesting and 

 beautiful plants ; all are native of North-western America. 

 One of the first to be introduced was L. rediviva (Bitter 

 root), a native of the Rocky Mountain region, where it is 

 found alongside rivers on dry prairies. All the Lewisias 

 like a warm position in well-drained stony soil, with plenty 

 of moisture when in full growth. Planted in rocky 

 crevices they are also quite at home, and in such places 

 they will survive our winters. After they die down the 

 plants require to be kept quite dry till they start growing 

 again, when water must be once more applied. There 

 are eight species in cultivation, of which the four best 

 are the following. L. Cotyledon is a beautiful plant from 

 the Siskiyou Mountains of Northern California ; it 

 forms a rosette of leaves not unlike those of Saxifraga 

 Cotyledon, but greener, more fleshy, and without the 

 silvery edge. They are about four inches in diameter, 

 while the much branched stems reach a height of six 

 inches. The large flowers have eight to ten petals, which 

 are rosy-purple with a broad white margin. L. Howelli 



