EMPETEUM EPILOBIUM. 



117 



nal, solitary, barely rising above the 

 leaves, cup-shaped, cut into segments 

 for about one -third of their length ; 

 tube of the calyx obconical, smooth. 

 Leaves, linear, entire, hoary and 

 silvery, with adpressed hairs on the 

 upper side, very finely ciliated at the 

 edges, and quite smooth on the under 

 side, which is of a dark, shining green. 

 Dalmatia, on elevated parts of Mount 

 Biocovo. A gem for the rock- 

 garden, thriving in moist loam, with 

 abundance of sand or grit ; well suited 

 for association with the alpine Forget- 

 me-not, and other dwarf, choice May- 

 flowering rock-plants. Seed. 



Empetrum nigrum (Black Crow- 

 lerry)* A small, creeping, much 

 branched, heath-like shrub, forming 

 thick tufts, 1 ft. high. Flowers, in spring; 

 purplish, small, with a whitish calyx, 

 sessile, axillary, near the ends of the 

 branches. Leaves, crowded, linear- 

 oblong, about i in. long ; margins 

 rolled back so as to nearly meet. 

 Berries black, clustered, resembling 

 those of the Juniper. N. Europe and 



Britain. This may occasionally be 



thought worthy of a place in the rock- 

 garden, or in collections of dwarf 

 shrubs, in peaty or very sandy soil. 

 Division. 



Epigaea repens (Ground Laurel). A 

 very handsome, creeping, tufted, ever- 

 green shrub ; 6 in, high. Flowers, in 

 early summer ; white, tinged with red, 

 in small clusters, exhaling a sweet and 

 spicy fragrance ; corolla cylindrical. 

 Leaves, roundish-heart-shaped, quite 

 entire, covered with russety hairs ; mar- 

 gins waved. North America. Peat 

 borders, or the rock-garden, in half- 

 shady spots, in sandy peat, or natu- 

 ralized in sandy woods or copses, in 

 which it would look as much at home 

 as in its native woods, Careful divi- 

 sion of established tufts. 



Epilobium angustifolium (French 

 Willow). Perhaps the most showy 



perennial that blooms in the middle 

 of summer 3 to 6 ft. high. Flowers, 

 crimson, in spiked racemes, each flower 

 with a bract. Leaves, lance-shaped, 

 undulated, nearly stalkless, smooth; 

 stems erect, nearly simple. There is a 

 pure white variety. Mountain woods 

 and pastures in Europe and Siberia, 



and in many parts of Britain. This 



fine plant, which runs so quickly in a 

 border as to soon become a most 

 troublesome weed, is magnificent 

 when allowed to run wild in a rough 

 shrubbery or copse, where it may 

 bloom along with the Foxgloves, 

 etc. Division. 



Epilobium angustissimum (Narrow- 

 leaved E.} A medium-sized perennial, 

 with a reddish stem, from \ to 2 ft. 

 high. Flowers, late in summer ; rose- 

 coloured, more than an inch across ; 

 flower- buds covered with a white 

 mealy bloom. Leaves, lance-shaped, 

 sessile, attenuated at both ends. 

 European Alps. Borders, in ordi- 

 nary soil. Division. 



Epilobium Dodonaei (Dodonceus's E.) 



A showy herb, with rosemary -like 



leaves; 1 to 1 ft. high. Flowers, 



in summer ; deep rose, terminal. 



Leaves, very narrow, lance-shaped, 



j nearly entire, smooth ; stem almost 



! smooth, ascending, branched at the 



! apex. Piedmont and Dauphiny. 



Borders, fringes of shrubberies, or 

 naturalization in open copses, in ordi- 

 nary soil. Division or seed. 



Epilobium hirsutum (Hairy E.)A. 

 handsome and common species, 3 to 

 6 ft. high. Flowers, in summer ; 

 purple or flesh-coloured, somewhat 

 I bell-shaped, in a leafy, corymbose 

 cluster; petals cloven, twice the 

 length of calyx. Leaves, lower ones 

 opposite ; upper ones alternate, ovate- 

 lance-shaped, hairy, toothed; stems 

 branched, hairy. Britain, Europe and 



Siberia, in wet places. Only useful 



by the margins of streams, poiids, 



