LINUM LITHOSPERMCTM. 



167 



Flax). A showy perennial, with 

 stems slightly woody at the base ; 1 to 

 14 ft. high. Flowers, in summer; 

 golden -yellow, in corymbs, opening 

 most in the morning when the sun 

 shines ; petals blunt. 3 times as long 

 as the calyx. Leaves, narroW'lance- 

 shaped, acute, stalkless, about 1^ in. 

 long, smooth, thickish. Austria and 



Hungary. Borders, in sandy loam. 



Division or seed. 



Linum narbonnense (NarbonneFlax). 

 A beautiful and large kind, gene- 

 rally continuing a long time in flower, 

 with erect stems, 1 to 1^ ft. or more 

 high. Flowers, in summer ; light sky- 

 blue, with violet-blue veins, large, in 

 a kind of umbel ; sepals tapering to 

 a long point ; anthers 3 times as long 

 as broad. Leaves, alternate, distant, 

 narrow- lance -shaped, very acute, 

 rather stiff; stems branching almost 

 from the bottom, glaucous. S. Europe. 



Warm borders,in well-drained and 



deep sandy loam. Division or seed. 



Linum perenne (Perennial Flax). 

 A pretty native species, forming tufts 

 12 to 18 in. high. Flowers, in sum- 

 mer; bright cobalt-blue ; more than 

 1 in. in diameter; sepals blunt, 

 petals overlapping each other at the 

 edges. Leaves, small, narrow-lance- 

 shaped, entire. There is a white 

 variety, and one with the flowers 

 variegated with white, known in 

 gardens as L. Lewisii variegatum, but 

 this marking is not conspicuous nor 

 constant. Found in the eastern coun- 

 ties of England. Borders and banks, 



in ordinary soil. Division and seed. 



Linum salsoloides (Heath L.) 

 A hardy, dwarf, half-shrubby kind, 

 somewhat like a dwarf Heath, with 

 the stem twisted at the base ; 3 or 4 

 in. high. Flowers, in summer ; white 

 with a slight tinge of blue, nearly 

 4 in. across. Leaves, linear, smooth, 

 scattered, the lower ones shorter and 

 almost imbricated. South of Europe. 



The rock-garden, in sandy soil, 



and on the margins of well- drained 

 borders where sufficiently plentiful. 

 Seed or cuttings. 



Linum viscosum (Viscid Flax). 

 A neat kind, with half-shrubby, 

 slightly branching downy stems ; about 

 1 ft. high. Flowers, in summer ; rich 

 lilac, with deeper veins, nearly 1 in. 

 across. Leaves, alternate, lance-shaped, 

 acute, covered with viscous glands, 

 and a feeble whitish down. Pyrenees. 



The rock-garden, in moist sandy 



loam. Seed, and division. 



Lithospermum Gastoni (Gaston's L.) 

 A rare and beautiful species, with 

 erect, herbaceous stems ; 1 to 1 4 ft. 

 high. Flowers, in summer ; bright sky- 

 blue, twice the size of those of L. 

 prostratum, in terminal clusters. Leaves, 

 obovate - lance - shaped, numerous, 

 slightly rough with adpressed hairs. 



Central Pyrenees. Borders, or the 



rougher parts of rockwork, in rich, 

 well-drained loam. Seed or division. 



Lithospermum petrseum (Rock Grom- 

 well). A charming dwarf rock-shrub, 

 6 to 8 in. high. Flowers, in summer ; 

 tubular, funnel-shaped, violet-blue, 

 with protruded anthers of a deep 

 orange-red, in dense, small, oblong 

 heads ; lobes of calyx silky, lanceo- 

 late-acuminate. Leaves, linear-oblong, 

 obtuse, somewhat turned back at 

 the edges, and covered with very 

 short, silky, whitish, adpressed hairs. 



Dalmatia and Southern Europe. 



Sunny warm ledges in the rock- 

 garden, in well- drained sandy soil. 

 Cuttings, and seed if obtainable. 



Lithospermum prostratum (Gentian 

 L.) A dwarf, brilliantly-blooming, 

 trailing evergreen, with prostrate 

 spreading stems slightly shrubby at 

 the base. Flowers, in early summer ; 

 fine blue with reddish -violet stripes, 

 axillary, stalkless, freely produced, 

 about 4 -in. across ; corolla with a 



