88 



CENTAUREA CERASTIUM. 



lanceolate lobes. Mountain pastures 

 of the Caucasus. Borders, or natu- 

 ralization in any soil. Division. 



Centaurea macorcephala (Great- 

 hearted C.) Rather a coarse perennial. 

 Flowers, late in summer ; yellow, larger 

 than a hen's egg; scales of involu- 

 crum jagged. Stem simple, hollow 

 and thickened under the flower. 

 Leaves, oblong-lanceolate, shortly de- 

 current, undivided, rough, somewhat 

 serrated, ending in a short abrupt sharp 

 point. Iberia, on hills and moun- 

 tains. Naturalization in any soil. 

 Division or seed. 



Centaurea montana (Mountain C.} 

 A handsome border plant, 1 to 2 ft. 

 high, with slightly cottony leaves, and 

 flowers resembling those of the Corn 

 blue-bottle (C. Cyanus], but larger. 

 Flowers, in early summer ; blue, large 

 and handsome; florets deeply cut 

 into 4 or 5 segments, 12 or 13 in each 

 head. Leaves, lance- shaped, entire, 

 decurrent ; stem mostly simple, but 

 sometimes with a branch or two. 

 There is a white and a red variety in 



cultivation. Europe. Borders, 



margins of shrubberies, or naturaliza- 

 tion in any soil. Division and 

 seed. 



Centaurea uniflora (One-flowered C.) 

 A distinct and ornamental mountain 

 plant, as yet not common in our gar- 

 dens, 9 to 15 in. high. Flowers, in 

 summer ; purple, roundish, terminal, 

 nearly sessile among the upper leaves, 

 the unopened heads seeming covered 

 with a dark net-work, from being 

 overlapped with the hairy points of 

 the scales. Leaves, small, white and 

 downy ; lower ones oblong-laDceolate, 

 toothed ; upper ones, lanceolate, entire. 



Mountain pastures in S. Europe 



Borders and the rock-garden, or natu- 

 ralization on slopes, in sandy or gritty 

 soil. Division and seed. 



Centranthus ruber (Red Valerian). 

 A showy and usefuj. perennial, 1 to 



3 ft. high. Flowers, in summer ; red, 

 in dense cymes forming a handsome 

 corymbose panicle. Leaves, lance- 

 shaped, smooth, entire, and of a glau- 

 cous hue ; stem somewhat shrubby at 

 the base. There is a variety with 



white flowers. S. Europe. Banks, 



on which the plant lives long and 

 flowers freely, on borders, margins of 

 shrubberies, stony places, etc., in any 

 soil. Seed. 



Cerastium alpinum (Alpine C.) An 

 interesting native alpine plant, with 

 stems 2 to 4 in. high. Flowers, in 

 summer ; white, rather freely pro- 

 duced on somewhat hairy stalks, 1 or 

 2 on each ; calyx hairy ; petals twice 

 as long as the calyx. Leaves, ovate, 

 small, nearly smooth, or clothed with 

 long woolly hairs. A very variable 

 species, sometimes green, and at others 

 quite hoary. Pyrenees and Britain. 



Rockwork, and among the smallest 



flowers in borders, in ordinary free 

 garden soil. Division. 



Cerastium Biebersteinii (Bieberstein's 

 C.) A silvery-foliaged mountain 

 plant, now pretty well known in gar- 

 dens, 6 in. high. Flowers, in early 

 summer ; white, larger than those of 

 C. foment osum ; stalks erect, dicho- 

 tomous. Leaves, woolly, ovate-lance- 

 shaped ; stems branching. The higher 



mountains of Tauria. Borders, 



edging, rootwork, rough rockwork, 

 and naturalization on banks and slopes, 

 in any soil. Division. 



Cerastium Boissieri (Boissler's C.) 

 A handsome new silvery kind, 4 in. 

 to 1 ft. high. Flowers, large, arranged 

 in a rather regular dichotomous cyme 

 on the top of the stem ; anthers yellow ; 

 bracts oblong-lanceolate, scarious on the 

 margin, often ciliated. Leaves, all sessile, 

 generally ovate-lanceolate (more rarely 

 linear), acute, entire. Rhizome, creep- 

 ing extensively, emitting numerous 

 roots from the under side of its joints, 

 and stems from the upper side. A 



