226 ATRAPHAXIS ATRIPLEX 



wide ; oblong or oval, tapered at both ends, margins wavy ; smooth, pale green ; 

 stalk very short ; stipules pale, translucent, with two awl-shaped points, in. or 

 more long. Flowers in. wide, white, with the anthers and ovary rose-coloured, 

 produced in May and June in racemes i to i^ ins. long, at the end of the 

 previous year's growth, when the young shoots are already several inches long ; 

 flower-stalk jointed near the base. 



Native of the Thian Shan range of mountains in Central Asia, where it was 

 discovered by Krassnov ; introduced to Kew from St Petersburg in 1880. It 

 is the strongest growing and perhaps the most ornamental of cultivated species 

 of Atraphaxis, and distinct from the others in the large leaves. 



A. S P I N o S A, Linnceus. 



(Tragopyrum spinosum, Presl.") 



A low, deciduous, twiggy shrub of sprawling habit, I to 2 ft. high, and 

 twice or thrice as wide ; the slender branches often spine-tipped ; young wood 

 smooth and whitish ; bark loose. Leaves oval or obovate to roundish, J to ^ in. 

 long, smooth, blue-green. Flowers ^ in. across, white, rosy-tinted, borne in 

 small axillary clusters on short, spine-tipped, lateral twigs ; sepals four, the two 

 large inner ones roundish, veined, persisting and keeping their colour a long 

 time, ultimately becoming flat, membranous, rounded, $ in. across, pressed close 

 together with the two-edged fruit between them. It blossoms in August. 



A widely spread species, native of W. Asia, S.E. Europe, the Orient, etc. ; 

 cultivated since early in the eighteenth century. In some of its drier native 

 localities its leaves are very small. Very pretty and interesting in flower and 

 fruit. Although sometimes confounded with A. lanceolata, it is easily dis- 

 tinguished by its two-edged fruit, spiny branchlets, and smaller leaves. 



ATRIPLEX. CHENOPODIACE^:. 



About half a dozen species of Atriplex are occasionally met with in 

 gardens, the commonest and best being A. Halhrms. They belong to 

 the Goosefoot family, and are chiefly distinguished by the grey, whitish 

 or silvery aspect of the foliage. The West American species form part of 

 the characteristic grey vegetation of the great alkaline and saline areas 

 of that region. Leaves alternate or rarely opposite ; flowers very small 

 and quite unattractive. They need a light soil of moderate quality not 

 enriched with manure, and a sunny position. They rarely bear fruit, and 

 some do not even flower in cultivation. All should be tried in maritime 

 localities. Increased easily by summer cuttings. 



A. CANESCENS, James. GREY SAGE BRUSH. 



An evergreen, unisexual shrub of sprawling habit, 5 or 6 ft. high, twice as 

 much in diameter, of a light grey colour ; leaves and young branches covered 

 with a fine scurfy down. Leaves alternate, narrowly oblong, f to 2 ins. long, 

 \ to \ in. wide, fleshy, bluntish at the apex, tapered at the base. Flowers 

 yellowish, very small ; produced during July in cylindrical, spiked clusters, both 

 terminal, and axillary, \ to I in. long ; the whole forming a slender, tapered, 

 leafy panicle 6 to 12 ins. long. Fruit bracts \ in. long, deeply toothed. 



Native of Western N. America from British Columbia to Nebraska, and 

 found in dry, saline localities. It has long been cultivated at Kew, and is 



