270 



LIMNOCHARIS ORONTIUM. 



Flowers, in spring and early summer ; 

 purplish-violet with deep yellow sta- 

 mens, numerous, in loose clusters 

 which form a large panicle. Leaves, 

 alternate ; oval-heart-shaped, irregu- 

 larly toothed, the lower ones stalked, 

 upper ones sessile. Fruit, remarkable 

 for its size, consisting of a flat, very 

 broadly -oval seed-vessel, rounded at 

 both ends, and with a shining, satiny, 

 permanent dissepiment, which is very 

 ornamental for a long time after the 



seed is shed. Central Europe. 



Although a biennial this is included 

 here because it will sow itself abun- 

 dantly on banks, or in shrubberies or 

 copses; certainly on all light warm 

 soils. No plant is more worthy of 

 naturalization, while it is also excel- 

 lent for the spring garden and for 

 borders. Seed. 



Limnocharis Humboldtii (Humboldt's 

 L.} A handsome aquatic plant, with 

 long, slender, creeping rootstocks, 

 and floating leaves. Flowers, from 

 July to September ; of a lively golden 

 yellow colour, marked with a broad 

 dark spot at the base of each of the 

 3 petals ; sepals 3, green, persistent, 

 shorter than the petals. Leaves, oval, 

 long- stalked, fleshy, smooth, of a 



lively green colour. S. America. 



In fountain basins and clear rather 

 still waters, where the plant will be 

 fully exposed to the sun. It thrives 

 and flowers freely during the summer 

 months in the open air, grown in 

 rather large pots placed on the bottom 

 of the tank or pond. It will probably 

 not survive out of doors in winter 

 except in the mildest districts, and 

 placed at least 18 in. below the sur- 

 face. It might, however, escape in 

 water that does not freeze. Plants 

 put out of a warm aquatic house in 

 May soon begin to grow in the open 

 air. Division. 



Mitchella repens (Variegated Par- 

 tridge Berry}. A very neat, trailing, 



small, evergreen herb, 2 or 3 in. high. 

 Flowers, in summer; white, often 

 tinged with purple, funnel -shaped, 

 4-lobed, densely bearded inside, fra- 

 grant, growing in pairs. Leaves, small, 

 opposite, roundish-ovate, smooth and 

 shining, stalked, often variegated with 

 whitish lines. North America, in dry 



woods. In shady spots near the 



rock-garden or hardy fernery, in sandy 

 peat and leaf-mould. Division. 



Muscari armeniacum (Armenian 

 Grape Hyacinth}. A strikingly beau- 

 tiful and scarce species, 6 in. high. 

 Flowers, in May ; fine cobalt-blue with 

 3 small yellow dots near the mouth of 

 the corolla, in a dense spike about 

 2 in. long, agreeably fragrant. Leaves, 

 ribbon-like, concave, pointed, about 

 9 in. long and | in. broad. Armenia. 



The bulb-garden, and on level 



spots in the rock-garden ; also in 

 borders, when sufficiently plentiful, in 

 light soil. Division. 



Onopordon acaule (Stemless Cotton 

 Thistle}. A singular and interesting 

 fine-foliaged biennial, with a very- 

 short stem, from 2 to 4 in. high, 

 Flowers, in July ; dull white, globose, 

 solitary on the top of the stem ; invo- 

 lucre of narrowly lance-shaped, green 

 or yellowish scales ending in sharp 

 spines. Leaves, very large, all radical, 

 stalked, sinuate-pinnatitid, with trian- 

 gular toothed spiny lobes, covered 

 with white down on both sides, and 

 forming a rosette 4 ft. or more in dia- 

 meter, and 12 to 18 in. high ; stem, 

 thickened at the base, woolly, not 

 winged, frequently emitting from 

 the base one or two short as- 

 cending branches. Pyrenees. In 



the picturesque garden, isolated on 

 the turf, or naturalized on sunny 

 banks or slopes in the rougher parts 

 of the pleasure-ground ; also in groups 

 of fine-foliaged hardy perennials. Seed. 



Orontium aquaticum (Golden Club], 

 A handsome aquatic perennial of 



