102 



CUCURBITA CYCLAMEN. 



Caucasus. Borders, rockwork, or 



bare banks, in sandy or calcareous 

 soil. Division or seed. 



Cncurbita perennis (Perennial Cu- 

 cumber). A remarkable-looking trail- 

 ing plant, with large hoary leaves. 

 Flowers, in summer; pale yellow; 

 lobes of calyx awl-shaped ; fruit 

 roundish, smooth, almost sessile. 

 Leaves, triangularly heart- shaped with 



undulating margins. Associated 



with fine-leaved hardy plants, gourds, 

 etc., in very deep and rich soil, in 

 which it will attain great vigour. It 

 may be trained over stakes or stumps, 

 or allowed to trail over undulating 

 banks ; but it is chiefly valuable for 

 the botanical or curious collection. 

 Seed and careful division. 



Cyananthus lobatus (Lobed C.} 

 A brilliant and remarkable Himalayan 

 rock plant, about 4 in. high. Flowers, 

 in August and September ; purplish- 

 blue with a whitish centre, few, soli- 

 tary, usually terminal, about an inch 

 across, funnel-shaped, with 5 spoon- 

 shaped lobes; throat covered with 

 numerous soft, long, whitish hairs; 

 calyx 5-cleft, large, roundish, thickly 

 set with short blackish hairs. Leaves, 

 lozenge- shaped, small, fleshy, alter- 

 nate, deeply and irregularly notched 

 or lobed, greyish underneath. Stems 

 branching but little, procumbent or 

 ascending, spreading loosely about. 



Himalayas. The rock-garden in 



sunny chinks. It grows best in a 

 mixture of sandy peat and leaf -mould, 

 with plenty of moisture during the 

 growing season. Increased freely by 

 cuttings. The seed requires a dry, 

 favourable season to ripen it ; in wet 

 weather the large, erect, persistent 

 calyx becomes filled with water, 

 which remains and rots the included 

 seed vessel. 



Cyclamen coum (Round-leaved C.) 

 Distinguished by its rounded leaves. 

 Flowers, December to March ; reddish 



purple, darker at the mouth, where 

 there is a white circle ; inside striped 

 with red ; corolla short, closed at the 

 mouth. Leaves, roundish-heart-shaped, 

 divided at the base, the lobes 

 overlapping. C. vernum of Sweet 

 (" Brit. Fl. Gard.," vol. i. t. 9), is a 

 variety with the leaves marked, or 

 zoned, with an unequal band of white 

 between the margin and the centre, 

 and flowers similar to the best va- 

 rieties of C. coum. Tuber round, 

 depressed, fibres issuing from under- 

 side only. C. coum album is a variety 

 raised by Mr. Atkins, of Pains wick, 

 with white flowers, having a dark 



mouth. Greek Archipelago. The 



rock-garden, or choice warm sheltered 

 borders, in fibry vegetable soil. 



Cyclamen europseum (European C.) 

 Flowers, from June to November, or 

 if slightly protected till the end of the 

 year ; reddish-purple, very fragrant ; 

 petals rather short and stiff; mouth 

 of the corolla pentagonal, not toothed 

 Leaves, appear in early summer, and 

 remain the greater part of the year ; 

 they vary considerably in outline, the 

 markings of the surface, and the colour 

 beneath ; but they are always more or 

 less toothed, those from more northern 

 habitats more so than those from loca- 

 lities south of the Alps, where they 

 assume, in a measure, the rounder 

 form and more delicate markings of 

 C. persicum. Tuber of medium size 

 and very irregular form, sometimes 

 roundish, depressed, or knotted, at 

 others lengthened out sometimes more 

 than a foot. The rind is thin, smooth, 

 yellowish, sometimes "scabby." The 

 southern varieties have flowers much 

 longer and of a more delicate colour, 

 often approaching peach- colour; pure 

 white ones are rare, but pale ones not 



uncommon. Central Europe. The 



rock-garden, or warm borders in rich 

 light earth. This, like the Ivy-leaved 

 C. t may be naturalized in parks and 



