180 



MUSCARI MYOSOTIS. 



deliciously fragrant and arranged in a 

 dense, nearly globose cluster about 

 2 1 in. long. Leaves, alternate, linear, 

 concave, about as long as the flower- 

 stem, of a tender green, spreading on 

 the ground. Bulb, of medium size, 



elongated, yellowish. The Levant. 



Borders, or naturalized on warm sunny 

 banks among the violets and early 

 spring flowers, in sandy soil. Division. 



Muscari racemosum (Grape Hya- 

 cinth). The commonest kind, frequent 

 in cottage and old gardens, 4 to 8 in. 

 high. Flowers, in spring ; deep blue, 

 whitish at the ends, smelling strongly 

 of plums, arranged in a close cylin- 

 drical cluster. Leaves, few, linear, 

 rush-like, spreading, about 8 to 10 in. 

 long. Bulb, egg-shaped, small, whitish. 

 Southern and Central Europe and Bri- 

 tain. Borders, or naturalized in any 



bare positions, in any soil. Division. 



Myosotis alpestris (Alpine Forget- 

 me-not}. M. rupicola. An exquisite 

 alpine plant, 2 or 3 in. high. Flowers, 

 in early summer ; handsome blue, 

 with a very small yellowish eye, 

 sweet-scented in the evening. Leaves, 

 dark green, hairy, alternate, sessile, 

 oblong - Ian ce - shaped, in very dense 

 tufts close to the earth. North of 

 England and Scotland. It is distinct 

 from the Myosotis alpestris of Conti- 

 nental botanists. The rock-garden, 



or the margins of the choice mixed 

 border, among the choicest plants, 

 either in fully exposed or somewhat 

 shady positions, in sandy or gritty 

 loam, kept moist in summer. Seed. 



Myosotis azorica (Azorean Forget-me- 

 not). A beautiful kind, known at 

 once by its deep blue blooms not 

 having an " eye" of another colour in 

 the centre ; 6 to 10 in. high. Flowers, 

 in summer ; rich purple when they 

 first open, afterwards of a fine indigo - 

 blue throughout ; about 4 in- across, 

 in dense racemes without bracts; 

 throat yellow ; calyx deeply divided ; 



Leaves, hairy, upper ones oblong-ob- 

 tuse ; lower ones oblong-spoon-shaped. 



Azores Islands. Warm and moist 



nooks in the rock-garden, or half- 

 shady spots in borders, in moist peat 

 or sandy loam with leaf -mould. It 

 does not long endure, and is some- 

 what tender, so that some seed should 

 be sown every year in spring or sum- 

 mer, some of the seedling plants to be 

 kept over the following winter in 

 frames. Seed. 



Myosotis dissitiflora^arfy Forget-me- 

 fiot). M. montana. A very early- 

 flowering beautiful plant, 6 in. to 

 1 ft. high. Flowers, very early in 

 spring ; large, handsome, deep sky- 

 blue, numerous, continuing to bloom 

 till the middle of summer ; resembling 

 those of M. sylvatica more than any 

 other, but standing more apart from 

 each other on the spike. Leaves, oblong- 

 lanceolate, gradually pointed. Alps, 



near the Vogelberg, Borders, the 



rock-garden, beds in the spring- garden, 

 or naturalized here and there in copses, 

 woods, or shrubberies, in any (not too 

 cold or heavy) soil. In some moist 

 districts it sows itself abundantly ; 

 and it may be readily increased by 

 division and cuttings. 



Myosotis palustris (Forget-me-not). 

 The well-known Forget-me-not; 6 to 

 12 in. high or more. Flowers, all the 

 summer, in one-sided racemes, either 

 simple or forked ; corolla rather 

 large, bright blue with a yellow 

 throat, limb flat, longer than the tube, 

 calyces 5-parted, not below the 

 middle, obtuse, spreading, on pedicels 

 about twice their length. Leaves, 

 smooth or hairy, obovate-lance-shaped, 

 obtuse ; stems creeping at base. Com- 

 mon in wet ditches, and by the sides 

 of streams and canals throughout 



Britain. Although a common wild 



plant, this well deserves a place in the 

 garden, among shrubs in peat beds, or 

 even as edgings, or used as a carpet 



