XERANTHEMUM 



bushy habit, with somewhat smaller heads. A"", i-arius 

 Hort", is a trade uarae for mixed varieties. 



X. indpterum. Mill. (X. erectum. Presl.) has white heads c 

 which the scales are little or not at all open or spreadiug. S 

 Eu. to S. W. Asia. L. H. B. 



XEEOPH'fLLtrM (Greek, rfM/ ?eaf). LiUAcca. TfB 

 KEY'S Beard. The Turkey's Beard o£ our eastern state 

 is a strong: perennial herb 

 3 or 4 ft. high, resemhlin., 

 the asphodel. It ha i 

 dense tuft of numeiou 

 long, wiry leaves from tht 

 center of" which spimj, a 



ift. high, with an oval oi 



oblong raceme 6 in long 



crowded with jellowish 



white 6 -parted lis each 



M in. across. It blooms 



from May to July, fl with 



delicate fragrance lasting a 



long time. It is a hand 



somer plant than the a 



phodel, but, like minv 



other native plants its 



beauty was first appreci 



ated in England and it has 



only lately found fa^o^ in 



American gardens \ 



setifolium,or asphodelonU 



as it is known to the tride 



is considered one of the 



choicest plants foi En^li h 



bog gardens. The i 



sion of several large cluin| 



is especially to be desired 



as each plant flowers (. 



freely that it requires a 



year or two to recj\er 



Unfortunately the pHnt 



does not seed freeh iml 



propagation by di^ i i )n i 



a slow process whiih nui t 



be performed with „ieit 



care in the spiing It 



needs a moist and some 



what shaded situation and 



a peaty soil. The prohal il 



ity is that the Turke\ 



Beard can be grown in ain 



sandy soil that has been 



liberally enriched witli 



well-rotted leaf-ni Id in i 

 spot that is reasuiiil h i\\\ 



in winter. The s) em i 

 a native of the U\ i ni 

 barrens from southern N 



J. to eastern Tenn and I a 

 The chief species of the 

 Pacific coast, X. tenax has 

 white and violet flowers 

 the latter color supplied by 

 the stamens. Each region 

 should cultivate its own 

 species. The forms are 

 too much alike for the 

 same garden. A third spe- 

 cies, S. Dnuglasii. is a rare 

 plant ranging from Mon- 

 tana to Oregon. It is dis- 

 tinguished by its 6-valved 

 capsule and" is said to 

 be inferior as a garden plant to the other species. 

 Xerophyllums are tall perennial herbs with short 

 thick, woody rootstocks, unbranched leafy stems and 

 linear, rough-edged leaves, the upper ones shorter 

 than the lower: fls. small, white, in a large, dense ra- 

 ceme, the lower fls. opening first; perianth-segments 

 oblong or ovate, o-7-nerved, devoid of glands; stamens 

 6: ovary 3-grooved; styles 3, reflexed or recurved: 

 capsule loculicidally and sometimes also septicidally 

 dehiscent. Watson in Proc. Am. Acad. Arts. Sci. 14:284. 



XEROPHYLLUM 



1997 



A. Baceme S-6 in. long or more: perianth- 



eeeditifj the stamens: 

 setifdlium, Michx. (A', asphodeloldes, Nutt.). Fig. 

 2759. A tall hardv perennial herb described above. 

 Varies in height from 1-4 ft. Found in the pine bar- 

 rens, eastern U. S. B.M. 748 and L.B.C. 4:394 (both 

 as lleloiiias asphodeloidrs). Gng. 1:173. A. F. 7:171. 



2759, Xerophyllum setifolium grow 



527; 27 



224: 58, 



7-5 ft. 



'erianfh -segments scarceli/ 



eqiiiilimi II,,- s/,,,i,f'ti.i: If.s. about 2 lines wide: 



pedi,-, l.-i 1,'iiij, f. iiiiK-itlij 1-2 in. long. 



tSnax, Nutt. |)istin[;iiished from eastern species by 



characters indicated above. Ranges from Calif, to Brit. 



Col. and varies in height from 2-5 ft. June, July. B.R. 



19:1613 (erroneously as X. setifolium ). W. M. 



