HELIOTROPE. 139 



HELIOTROPE. 



(HELIOTROPIUM PERUVIUM.) 



" There is a flower whose modest eye, 

 Is turned with looks of light and love, 

 Who breathes her softest, sweetest sigh, 

 Whene'er the sun is bright above." 



This is one of our general favorites, and is much culti- 

 vated in the green-house, and the parlor. It was discov- 

 ered by Jussieu, a celebrated French botanist, in Peru. 

 Along the Cordilleras it is found very plentiful, diffusing 

 its delightful fragrance, from whence the seeds were collect- 

 ed and sent to France. By this means, it found its way 

 into the parterres of the fashionables of Europe. This 

 plant is ornamental, sweet scented, and flowers nearly the 

 whole year, making it one of the most indispensable in 

 cultivation. The leaves are oblong, lanceolate, in appear- 

 ance much like the common sage of the garden ; it is 

 shrubby in its natural state, with spikes of flowers, numer- 

 ous, aggregate, corymbose, and of a bluish lilac color. It 

 generally attains the height of two feet; will grow readily 

 from cuttings taken off early in the spring, until fall. It is 

 in nature tender, and must never be left out of doors in 

 frosty weather, or it will be destroyed. In the spring, 

 when all danger of frost is over, it may be turned out ol 

 the pot into the open ground, and will grow luxuriantly, 

 and make quite an imposing appearance with its large 

 corymb of beautiful flowers. The last of September this 



