760 POLYGONATUM THE ENGLISH FLOWER GARDEN. 



POLYGONATUM. 



about intermediate between P, multi- 

 fiorum and P, officinale. It is a native 

 of Europe, and is said to have been 

 found in Syke's Wood, near Ingleton, 

 Yorkshire. A fine robust species, the 

 stems being from 25 ft. to 4 ft. high, arch- 

 ing, the leaves bright green ; flowers 

 large, two to five in a bunch from the 

 axils of the leaves, greenish-white, in July. 

 P. latifolium van comnmtatum differs 

 from the above in being glabrous through- 

 out, with a flower-stem 2 ft. to 7 ft. in 

 height ; large white flowers, three to ten 

 in a bunch. N. America. 



P. multiflorum. This is the common 

 Solomon's Seal, and is the most grown of 

 all the species. It grows from 2 ft to 3 ft. 

 high, glaucous green; the flowers are large, 



spots on the rock-garden, the habit grace- 

 ful, 2 ft. to 3 ft. in height, leaves glossy 

 green ; the flowers, white, marked with 

 reddish lines and dots, are borne in 

 bunches of from six to ten in the axils on 

 both sides in late summer. The fruit is 

 red when ripe. 



P. punctatum. Another beautiful 

 species from the temperate Himalayas, 

 where it is found at altitudes of 7,000 ft. 

 to 11,000 ft., and hardy in our gardens ; 

 about 2 ft. in height, the stem angular, 

 with hard leathery leaves, flowers white, 

 with lilac dots, two to three in a bunch, in 

 late summer. 



P. roseum. A handsome little plant, 

 allied to P. i/erticillatiim. It was first 

 sent to the Royal Gardens, Kew, by 



Polygonatum multiflorum (Solomon's Seal). 



nearly white, one to five in a bunch in the 

 axils of all the leaves. It is a very robust 

 and free-growing species, its arching 

 stems and drooping -flowers being very 

 attractive. There are several garden 

 varieties, notably a double-flowered one, 

 and one in which the leaves are distinctly 

 variegated. P. Broteri is a variety with 

 much larger flowers ; P. bracteatum, a 

 form in which the bracts at the base 

 of the flowers are well developed, flower- 

 ing throughout the summer. 



P. oppositifolium. A charming kind 

 confined to temperate regions of the 

 Himalayas and hardy, although usually 

 given as a greenhouse species. It will 

 doubtless do best in a sheltered spot, but 

 even in the open it has given me no 

 trouble, and it is a good plant for shady 



Bunge, and is doubtless the plant de- 

 scribed in Flora Rossica. It appears 

 to vary considerably in the length and 

 breadth of its leaves, in their being more 

 or less whorled, and also in the size of 

 its flowers. It grows 2 ft. to 3 ft. in height, 

 the leaves in whorls of three or more ; the 

 flowers, in pairs in the axils of the leaves, 

 are clear rose-coloured and very pretty 

 amongst the narrow green foliage. N. 

 Asia. 



P. verticillatum. An elegant species 

 distributed over the temperate Himalayas, 

 and pretty general in the northern hemi- 

 sphere. It was found in Perthshire, 

 Scotland, in 1792, and appears to have 

 been cultivated by John Tradescant, 

 jun., as early as 1656; 2 ft. to 3 ft. high 

 under cultivation, the leaves four to eight 



