222 



SAXIFRAGA. 



those of the stem obovate and mucro 

 nate ; stems erect, simple, leafy, 

 shining, with a few scattered gland- 

 bearing hairs. S. recta is a variety of 

 this, with 3- or 4-flowered peduncles, 

 and petals without any dots. Europe 



and North America. As hardy and 



easily grown in gardens as it is com- 

 mon and unfastidious in its native 

 haunts, growing freely in any open 

 soil, and forming handsome silvery 

 tufts 1 ft. or more in diameter, and 

 quite firm when fully exposed. It is 

 useful for the rockwork or mixed bor- 

 der, and is also one of the kinds of 

 which neat silvery edgings may be' 

 made. Division or seed. 



Saxifraga Andrews!! (Andrews's S.) 

 An interesting and handsome hybrid 

 kind, 8 in. to 1 ft. high. Flowers, in 

 early summer ; larger than those of 

 S. umbrosa, conspicuously dotted with 

 red ; petals broadly-oval, very slightly 

 notched at the end. Leaves, long, 

 spoon-shaped, obtuse, smooth, rather 

 thick, narrowed at the base into a 

 slightly-fringed stalk, and having a 

 membranous margin. Found in South- 

 Western Ireland. Borders, and the 



rock-garden, in sandy loam. Division. 



Saxifraga aretioides (Aretia Saxi- 

 frage). This forms cushions of little 

 silvery rosettes almost as small and 

 dense as those of Androsace helvetica, 

 about in. high. Flowers, in April ; 

 golden-yellow, in dense, few-flowered 

 corymbs ; pedicels and calyces clothed 

 with clammy 'down ; stem covered 

 with viscid hairs; petals with small 

 round notches at the apex ; segments 

 of calyx ovate, acute. Leaves, linear- 

 tongue-shaped, upright, very finely 

 pointed, keeled, greyish, imbricate, 

 ciliately toothed at the base, with a 

 few perforated dots near the margin. 



Pyrenees. Rather scarce at present, 



and worthy of a choice fully exposed 

 position on the rockwork. in sandy or 

 calcareous soil perfectly drained. Thus 



treated it forms dense tufts, sometimes 

 more than a foot across, and from its 

 very distinct appearance and yellow 

 flowers, contrasts well with most of 

 the other choice dwarf kinds. Divi- 

 sion or seed. 



Saxifraga aspera (Rough Saxifrage). 

 A small, grey, tufted, and prostrate 

 kind. Flowers, in summer ; dull 

 white, rather large; peduncles longish, 

 stiff", 1 -flowered, clothed with glandu- 

 liferous hairs. Leaves, flat, lance- 

 shaped, ciliated, lower ones closely 

 imbricated, upper ones somewhat 

 scattered ; stems branched, reddish, 

 brittle, hispid with short hairs. S. 

 bryoides is considered a variety of this, 

 but it does not send out runners like 

 the preceding, and has yellow flowers. 



European Alps. The rock-garden 



and borders, in moist sandy soil. Di- 

 vision. 



Saxifraga biflora (Large Purple Saxi- 

 frage). A beautiful species, allied to 

 the British S. oppositifolia, but larger 

 in all its parts and looser in habit. 

 Flowers, in spring ; rose-coloured at 

 first, changing to violet, in heads of 2 

 or 3. Leaves, flat, spoon - shaped, 

 small, ciliated, thinly scattered on the 

 stem, not packed as in S. oppositifolia, 

 imbricated in 4 rows. Alps and 

 Pyrenees, near the limits of perpetual 



snow. The rock-garden, in exposed 



spots, and in very sandy or gritty 

 loam. Seed, cuttings, and division of 

 well-established plants. 



Saxifraga caesia (Silver Moss}. A 

 minute kind, forming dense silvery 

 tufts, often less than 4 in. high. 

 Flowers, in early summer ; white, 

 about g of an inch across, in a small 

 panicle, on thread-like smooth stems, 

 about 3 in. high ; petals roundish, 

 tapering at the base, 3- to 5-nerved, 

 the side ones curved ; pedicels and 

 calyces with a few short glandular 

 hairs ; segments of calyx very blunt. 

 Leaves, linear - oblong, recurved, 3- 



