TR ACHELIUM TRIFOLIUM. 



247 



[There are sundry other species of 

 Thyme in cultivation, but few of them 

 are ornamental, though they are in- 

 teresting subjects for planting on very 

 dry banks or borders.] 



Trachelium cseruleum (Blue Throat- 

 wort}. An attractive perennial, 1 to 

 3 ft. high. Flowers, in early summer ; 

 azure blue, small, numerous, forming 

 a wide - spreading corymb. Leaves, 

 ovate, acute, flat, on short stalks, 

 coarsely serrate, smooth or ciliated ; 

 stem smooth. There is a white va- 

 riety. Mediterranean region, among 



rocks. Dry borders, or rocky banks, 



old ruins, or walls. Seed. 



Tradescantia virginica (Virginian 

 Spiderwort). A distinct and valuable 

 perennial, 1 to nearly 2^ ft. high. 

 Flowers, in summer; abundantly and 

 continuously, of a deep violet- blue with 

 anthers of a golden-yellow, arranged 

 in umbels on the tops of the stem 

 and branches. Leaves, linear - lance- 

 shaped, alternate, sheathing at the 

 base, slightly fringed at the edges. 

 There are several varieties : one with 

 double violet, one with single rose- 

 coloured, one with single lilac, and 

 one with white flowers. The last is 

 particularly pleasing from the contrast 

 afforded by the violet-bearded sta- 

 mens. North America, especially in 

 Virginia. Borders, fringes of shrub- 

 beries, and naturalization. It grows 

 in the wettest clays as well as in 

 ordinary garden soil. Division. 



Trichonema Bulbocodium (Bulbo- 

 codium, T.) An interesting little bul- 

 bous plant, 3 to 5 in. high. Flowers, 

 early in spring, solitary, violet, yellow 

 at the bottom of the corolla, in the 

 type, but displaying various shades 

 under culture, on very slender stems 

 which fall on the ground after the 

 plant has flowered ; segments of the 

 flower lance - shaped. Leaves, very 

 narrow, grass like, channelled and fur- 



rowed, longer than the flower-stem. 

 Bulb about the size of a Hazel-nut. 



South of Europe. Borders, in light 



deep soil. Division. 



Trientalis europea (Star/lower}. An 

 interesting and graceful plant, 3 to 

 6 in. high. Flowers, in spring and early 

 summer ; white or pink - tipped, 

 star-shaped, 1 to 4 on slender stalks 

 springing from the centre of the whorl 

 of leaves ; corolla mostly 7-parted, flat, 

 without any tube. Leaves, lance- 

 shaped, entire ; arranged in a whorl of 

 5 or 6 at the top of the simple stems, 

 the largest nearly 2 in. long; below 

 the whorl are 2 or 3 small ones 

 Northern and Arctic Asia, America, 

 and Europe, and found in the Scotch 

 Highlands and the North of England. 



Peat borders, and the lower 



fringes of the rock-garden among low 

 shrubs, in peaty soil ; also on the 

 margins of beds of American shrubs. 

 Division. 



Trifolium alpinum (Alpine Trefoil}. 

 A stout spreading kind, with large 

 but not brilliant flowers ; 3 to 6 in. 

 high. Flowers, in early summer; large, 

 purple, in an umbel ; the upper petal 

 flesh-coloured and streaked with pur- 

 ple. Leaves, trifoliate, on long stalks ; 

 leaflets lance-shaped or linear, blunt- 

 ish, toothed ; stipules very long and 

 narrow, acute. Roots, having the taste 

 of Liquorice. Higher mountains of 



Europe. Margins of borders, in 



ordinary soil. Division and seed. 



Trifolium repens var. purpureum 

 (Four-leaved Shamrock). A variety of 

 the common White or Dutch Clover 

 with brown or purplish leaves ; 3 to 

 5 in. high. Flowers, from the end of 

 May or beginning of June to the end 

 of summer ; small, white, faintly fra- 

 grant, in globular heads or clusters- 

 Leaves, long-stalked, each consisting 

 of 4 or 5 leaflets with a broad pur- 

 plish spot on the upper side ; this 

 spot sometimes fills the entire surface, 



