50 



ALYSSUM AMARYLLIS. 



do well in chinks in old ruins, etc. 

 Division or seed. 



Alyssum montanum (Mountain A. ) 

 A spreading, tufted, evergreen alpine 

 plant, 2 to 6 in. high. Flowers, in 

 early summer ; rich yellow, in simple 

 racemes. Leaves, alternate, small, 

 green, or but slightly hoary, rough 

 with stellate hairs, dotted ; stems pu- 

 bescent, spreading. Alps and Pyre- 

 nees. Rockwork, borders, or natu- 

 ralization on dry and bare sunny 

 banks, in well-drained soil. Seed, 

 cuttings, or careful division. 



Alyssum olympicum (Hort.) (Fra- 

 gile A.) An interesting alpine herb, 

 2 to 3 in. high, with slender, 

 wiry, decumbent branches. Flowers, 

 in summer ; small, deep yellow, in 

 roundish corymbose heads. Leaves 

 greyish, very small, spoon-shaped, 



sessile. Northern Greece. The 



rock-garden, in any soil not saturated. 

 Division or cuttings. 



Alyssum saxatile (Golden Tuft.) 

 A showy alpine herb, somewhat 

 shrubby at the base, about 1 ft. high. 

 Flowers, in April or May ; bright 

 yellow, freely, produced, in loose pani- 

 cles. Leaves, numerous, lance-shaped, 

 entire, hoary. A. saxatile variegatum 

 is a variegated form, sometimes used 

 as an edging plant, and also useful 

 for the rock-garden, or for borders. 

 Southern Russia. Rockwork, bor- 

 ders, beds and vases in the spring 

 garden ; naturalization on ruins, rocky 

 places, or bare banks, in ordinary soil. 

 Seed or cuttings. 



Alyssum spinosum (Spiny A.) A 

 minute silvery bush, 4 to 8 in. high. 

 Flowers, in early summer; small, 

 white, and inconspicuous, in small 

 clusters at the ends of the branches. 

 Leaves, lance-shaped, very small and 

 hoary. Branches spiny when old. 

 Southern Europe. Rockwork, edg- 

 ings, or margins of borders, in ordi- 

 nary soil. Scarcely ornamental in 



nower, but pleasing from its silvery 

 leaves. Seed and cuttings. 



Alyssum Wiersbeckii ( Wiersbeck's 

 A.) A hardy herbaceous perennial, 

 about \\ ft. high, with rigid, erect, 

 unbranching stems. Flowers, in 

 summer ; deep yellow, in large close 

 corymbose heads, about 1^ in. across. 

 Leaves, 2 in. long, oval-oblong-pointed, 

 sessile, attenuated at the base, covered 

 with rough prominences and fine hairs, 

 almost erect and overlapping, densely 

 covering the stem from the base to 



the top. Asia Minor. Rough 



borders, margins of shrubberies, and 

 naturalization. Seed. 



Amaryllis Belladonna (Belladonna 

 Lily). A noble hardy bulb, 1 to 3 ft. 

 high, lowers, late in summer, or in 

 autumn ; delicate silvery rose, very 

 sweet, 5 to 12 issuing from a two-cleft 

 sheath, each as large as a white lily 

 bloom, in 6 divisions, on naked stems. 

 Leaves, smooth, channelled, obtuse, 

 10 to 12 in. long, appearing in spring. 

 Bulbs very large, pear-shaped, with 

 brownish coats. Cape of Good Hope. 



In borders on the sunny side of 



glass-houses and walls, and on the 

 southern flanks of rockwork, in deep 

 sandy and well-drained loam, the 

 bulbs to be planted a foot deep. Pro- 

 pagated by division of the roots every 

 fifth or sixth year, replanting them 

 immediately, not nearer than a foot to 

 each other, and so deep that from 

 4 to 6 in. of soil may be left above the 

 apex of the bulbs. 



Amaryllis blanda is a variety of 

 the preceding, with much larger bulbs 

 and general development, bearing 

 noble umbels of white blossoms, turn- 

 ing to pale rose, not scented, blooming 

 in summer. There are several other 

 varieties all worthy of cultivation in 

 similar positions. Where the ground 

 is not naturally suitable for their 

 growth, it is well worth while to pre- 

 pare a deep bed of loam, peat, leaf- 



