PODOPHYLLUM POLYGALA. 



203 



finely fringed, covered with very small 

 scales on both sides. Northern China. 



Borders and the rock-garden, in 



ordinary soil. It thrives everywhere 

 and in any soil, but to fully enjoy 

 its flowers where the soil is heavy, it 

 is better to plant it in sandy loam and 

 in a sunny position. Division. 



Podophyllum Emodi (Himalayan 

 May Apple). A remarkable plant; 

 about I ft. high. Flowers, in spring ; 

 cup-shaped, whitish, 1 in. or more 

 across, not showy. Leaves, folded in 

 bud, roundish in outline, from 6 to 

 12 in. across, cut in 3 great lobes ; 

 the lateral lobes again divided in 2, 

 and the middle lobe in 3, all serrated. 

 Fruit, very large, edible, about 2 in. 

 long, bright coral red, fleshy inside, 

 irregular in outline. Himalaya Moun- 

 tains. In moist, deep, peaty soil, in 



warm and slightly sheltered positions. 

 A fine plant for the margin of beds of 

 American plants, and also in bog-beds 

 associated with such plants as Cypri- 

 pedium spectabile, etc. Division and 

 seed. 



Podophyllum peltatum (May Apple). 

 A curious plant with large leaves 

 and flowers like those of small single 

 Camellias, succeeded by round pale- 

 yellow berries ; 6 to 9 in. high. Flow- 

 ers, in May ; white, 1 4 to 2 in. across, 

 solitary between the two leaves; petals 

 9, rounded at the top, plaited at the 

 edges. Berry, about the size of a good 

 cherry, green at first, becoming yellow 

 when ripe. Leaves, opposite, peltate, 

 smooth, light green, irregularly 7- to 



9-parted. North America. In shady 



peat borders, or naturalized in woods, 

 in moist vegetable soil, and in shady 

 or half-shady positions. Division. 

 The horizontally-spreading roots are 

 the source of the now popular medi- 

 cine, Podophyllin. 



Polemonium caeruleum (Jacob's Lad- 

 der). A well-known old border peren- 

 nial ; 1C in. to 2 ft. high. Flowers, 



in early summer ; blue, in terminal 

 corymbs or panicles ; corolla with a 

 short tube, and a 5-lobed limb ; calyx 

 bell-shaped, hairy, 5-cleft. Ltaves, 

 pinnate, with from 11 to 21 lance- 

 shaped entire leaflets ; root-leaves 

 forming a dense tuft; stem-leaves few, 

 and smaller ; stems erect, stiff, smooth. 

 There are several varieties of this spe- 

 cies. P. cceruleumvariegatumis one with 

 beautifully variegated leaves, so grace- 

 ful that it might be mistaken for a 

 " variegated fern. " Of other varieties 

 the white-flowered one is perhaps the 

 most worthy of culture. Siberia and 

 Northern Europe, and apparently wild 

 in several parts of Britain. Bor- 

 ders, in ordinary soil. The variegated 

 form is used for edgings, and also has an 

 excellent effect here and there in the 

 mixed border. It may be increased 

 readily by the division of well-estab- 

 lished tufts in early autumn j the 

 common form by seed also. 



Polemonium reptans (Creeping P.) 

 A low spreading kind; 6 to 8 in. 

 high. Flowers, in early summer ; 

 varying from blue to white, in a loose 

 panicled corymb ; lobes of corolla 

 wedge-shaped ; lobes of calyx rather 

 shorter than tube. Leaves, pinnate ; 

 leaflets 7 to 11, ovate, acute, of a 

 darker green than those of P. cceru- 

 leum ; stems leafy, weak. N. America. 

 Borders and the rock-garden, in 



sandy soil. Division or seed. 



Polygala calcarea (Chalk MilJcwort). 

 A veiy pretty, small, half-shrubby 

 plant, 4 to 6 in. high. Flowers, in 

 summer ; blue, in terminal racemes. 

 Leaves, large, obovate, blunt, chiefly 

 in an irregular, large terminal rosette ; 

 those of the flower-stem short, smaller, 

 lanceolate. Chalk hills in the South- 

 east of England, rare. The rock- 

 garden, in sunny spots, in calcareous 

 soil. It is the easiest to cultivate of 

 the British kinds, and well established 

 tufts of it look very pretty among 



