858 SENECIO. 



THE ENGLISH FLOWER GARDEN. 



in July and August. A bold waterside plant, 

 of easy culture and not particular as to soil. 



S. DOROMCUM is one of the showiest 

 and most useful of the group, I ft. to 3 ft. 

 high, with stout stalks of large bright yellow 

 flowers in early summer. It is hardy any- 

 where and in any soil. Seed or division. 

 Central Europe. 



S. DOUGLASII. A much-branched plant 

 of 3 ft. , with a shrubby base, and known as 

 the Squaw Aster in N. W. America. Its 

 leaves are small and narrow or much cut, and 

 the flowers appear as very large heads of pale 

 yellow flowers, each an inch or more across. 

 To do well this needs a sheltered sunny corner 

 and dry soil. 



S. ELEGANS (Purple Jacobtea). This beau- 

 tiful half-hardy annual has long been a 

 favourite in gardens. It has a dwarf form 

 (nana) about a foot high, and there are 

 varieties with double flowers which are showy 

 and desirable, ranging in colour from white to 

 deep crimson, and lasting a long while. The 

 plant does best in rich sandy loam and planted 

 in bold masses, which flower from July to 

 October, according to the time of sowing. 

 Cape of Good Hope. 



S. GRAYI is a curious hardy shrub of 3 to 

 4 ft. from New Zealand, with oval silvery 

 leaves and loose heads of yellow flowers. 

 There are several allied shrubs from New 

 Zealand and South America, which are some- 

 times planted in collections of the rarer ever- 

 greens, and are more or less hardy according 

 to local conditions. S. elaagrtifolius is a 

 shrub of 10 or 12 feet, with woolly branches, 

 smooth oval leaves, and heads of small yellow 

 flowers ; S. compactus, with grey-green leaves 

 prettily edged with white ; and S. argent eus, 

 a low silvery-leaved shrub from Chili. All 

 these are increased from cuttings, and are 

 hardy in the warmer parts of the south and 

 south-west. 



S. JAPONICUS. One of the finest of the 

 large kinds, standing about 5 ft. high with us, 

 its leaves nearly a foot across and divided into 

 about nine divisions. The flower-stems are 

 slightly branched, and bear flowers 3 in. 

 across of a rich orange colour, in autumn. 

 This is a hardy, moisture-loving plant, and 

 should be grown in rich and moderately stiff 

 loamy soil, and beside a lake or pond where 

 it will never lack moisture. Japan where 

 it is said to reach a height of 15 ft. Syn., 

 ErythrochcEte palmatifida. 



S. KAEMPFERI (Leopard P^ant}. A hand- 

 some perennial with a fleshy rootstock and 

 large leaves 6 to 12 in. across, shaped like 

 those of a Coltsfoot, and borne upon stout 

 woolly stems. The form most grown is aureo- 

 maculatus, in which the leaves are finely 

 blotched with yellow, white, and pale rose. 

 Sometimes these shades occur in the same leaf, 

 but oftener the yellow and white colouring is 

 found in distinct plants ; another variation is 

 argenteus, in which glaucous-green leaves 

 are edged with creamy white. These plants 

 are tender except in the warmer parts of the 



south and south-west, but are sometimes 

 grown for their fine effect in the summer 

 garden, and wintered under glass. They 

 thrive in free moist soils rich in humus, and in 

 half-shade, but even under the best conditions 

 they grow slowly. Increase by division, the 

 offsets being potted and kept in a propagating- 

 house or frame until established. Syns. , Far- 

 fugium grande and Lignlaria Kaempferi. 



S. LEDEBOURII is a vigorous kind with an 

 erect stem 4 or 5 ft. high, and very large grey- 

 green leaves of striking appearance. The 

 flowers are yellow, borne in a long dense 

 spike. Free, moist, and somewhat peaty soil 

 is the most suitable for this plant, which is 

 increased by careful division in spring or 

 autumn. It is useful for grouping with fine- 

 leaved herbaceous plants, but seldom finds a 

 place in the flower-garden. Siberia. Syn., 

 Ligularia macrophylla. Allied kinds for 

 useful bold leaf effect in moist places are S. 

 sibiiica, S. Fischeri, and S. thyrsoidea. 



S. LEUCOSTACHYS. A tender shrubby kind 

 which should be wintered under glass, but is 

 used in the summer garden for its finely-cut 

 foliage of a glistening whiteness. A good 

 plant for warm dry banks. Seed or cuttings. 

 S. America. 



S. MACROPHYLLUS is a stout leafy perennial, 

 6 ft. high when full-grown, the glossy green 

 leaves and much-branched heads of small 

 yellow flowers of stately effect when grown 

 boldly on the lawn or in the wild garden. 



S. PALUDOSUS. A handsome water-plant 

 for the wild garden, found in our own fen 

 district and in wet places throughout Europe. 

 It stands 4 to 6 ft. high, with long narrow 

 leaves which are coarsely toothed and white 

 with cottony down while young. The bright 

 yellow flowers appear in July and August. 

 Division. 



S. PULCHER. One of the handsomest of 

 perennials, 2 to 3 ft. high, bearing in late 

 autumn rosy-purple flowers 2 to 3 in. across. 

 The plant is hardy, but its beauty is often 

 marred by frost and bad weather. It grows 

 best in deep moist loam and where some pro- 

 tection can be given from autumn frosts. 

 With us it rarely ripens seed, but is easily 

 increased in spring by cuttings of the roots, an 

 inch long, pricked into pans of light sandy 

 soil and placed on a shelf in the greenhouse. 

 Buenos Ayres. 



S. ROTUNDIFOLIUS. A newly introduced 

 shrub from New Zealand, with large rounded 

 leathery leaves covered with a yellowish felt 

 underneath. It is said to be a good seaside 

 plant in its own land, despite its large leaves, 

 and though as yet on trial in this country, it 

 has endured 16 degrees of frost without injury 

 upon the south coast. 



S. SARACENICUS. In moist places in the 

 west of England this plant grows wild, reach- 

 ing a height of 4 or 5 ft. It is useful for the 

 margins of ponds or streams, where it spreads 

 fast, and, associated with the Willow Herb, 

 gives a beautiful effect. Similar to this is 

 S. Doric, also well suited to the wild garden. 



