RAMONDIA. 



THE ENGLISH FLOWER GARDEN. RANUNCULUS. 757 



Q. GLABRA. A Japanese Oak, with large 

 handsome leaves, the acorns borne in upright 

 spikes. Several varieties are mentioned in 

 catalogues, but they are hardly distinct. At 

 Kew the species makes a large bush and is 

 thoroughly hardy. 



Q. ILEX. The best-known of Evergreen 

 Oaks, and the most valuable for Britain. Old 

 trees, which have been allowed plenty of space 

 and have been allowed to grow naturally, 

 resemble in form the Olive trees of the Italian 

 coast and of the Riviera. It is one of the 

 most variable of Oaks, but few of the named 

 varieties and there are many are so beauti- 

 ful as the wild kind. 



Q. SUBER (Cork Oak}. The Cork Oak, 

 which, except for the curious growth of its 

 bark, hardly differs in effect from the Holm 

 Oak. There are fine old trees of this at Mount 

 Edgcumbe, Goodwood, and other places, 

 though the Cork Oak is not hardy enough for 

 our climate generally. 



Q. VIRENS (Live Oak] is in its native 

 country a tree of the first economic value, 

 and deserves all the encomiums passed on 

 it by Cobbett in his Woodlands. All the 

 trees in England I have seen under this 

 name are, however, forms of Q. Ilex, and I 

 doubt there being any fine trees of the true 

 Q. virens in cultivation in this country. N. 



RAMONDIA (Rosette Mullieji}.R. 

 pyrenaica is an interesting Pyrenean plant, 

 with leaves in rosettes close to the ground, 

 the flowers purple-violet colour, with 



Ramondia pyrenaica. 



orange-yellow centre, i to i^ in. across, 

 on stems 2 to 6 in. long, in* spring and 

 early summer. There has been a good 

 deal of writing about its cultivation, but it 

 is really not difficult ; growing in cool peat 

 borders on the lower ledges of the rock- 



garden, or in moist chinks. It is found 

 in the valleys of the Pyrenees, on the 

 face of steep and rather shady rocks. 

 There is a rare white variety which does 

 well in borders of American shrubs in 1 

 peat soil. There is one good and one or 

 more pure white varieties, and some less 

 known species of new kinds are talked of 

 of, such as R. Heldreichi, R. serbica, 

 and R. Natalias ; the two last found in 

 Servia. Seed and division. Gesneraceae 



RANUNCULUS (Crowfoot Buttercup*}. 

 Mountain, meadow, and marsh herbs, 

 many of them weeds, while others are 

 among the choicest of alpine flowers and 

 perennials for borders. They are for the 

 most part of the simplest culture ; only 

 R. asiaticus and its many varieties re- 

 quire special treatment. 



R. aconitifolius. A mountain pasture 

 herb. The double-flowered variety which 

 is known as Fair Maids of France is a 

 pretty garden plant about 18 in. high, 



Ranunculus aconitifolius fl.-pl. (Fair Maids of France). 



for several weeks in early summer 

 covered with small rosette-like white blos- 

 soms. It is a charming plant in deep 

 moist soils, and the single wild plant 

 worth a place in collections. 



R. acris (Bachelors' Buttons). T\& 

 pretty double form of this plant is also a 

 useful kind, its rich yellow blossoms borne 

 in button-like rosettes : a border plant, 

 and good in moist soil. 



R. alpestris (Alpine Buttercup}. A 

 native of the alpine regions of Central 

 Europe, and found chiefly growing in 

 calcareous soil : a handsome kind, forming- 

 small tufts of shining, dark-green, prettily 

 cut leaves ; flowers large pure white, with 

 numerous yellow stamens in the centre, 

 and borne singly on erect stems from 

 2 in. to 6 in. high in June and July. A 



