LYCHNIS 



Some of the species o£ LycLnis are amongst the best 

 known of old-fashioned flowers, as the Mullein Pink, 

 Maltese Cross and Ragged Robin. These are essentially 

 flower-garden subjects. Others, as L. alpiiia, are bet- 

 ter known as border or rockwork plants. All species 

 are easily grown from seeds, the biennials and peren- 

 nials blooming the second year. The perennials are 

 often propagated by division. 



LYCHNIS 



955 



diurna, 8. 





n. 



Visearia, 7, 10. 



A. Calyx lobes long and leafy: petals not crowned. 

 1. Gitliigo, Scop. (Agrostimma Githdgo, Linn.). 

 CouN-cocKLE. Figs. 1329-30; also 825. An annual weed 

 in wheat-fields, and difiicult to eradicate because the 

 seeds are not readily screened from the wheat in the 

 thresher or fanning-raill: plant strict, 2-3 ft. tall, white- 

 . long-peduncled, red-purple 

 and showy, the obovate 

 entire petal limbs ex- 

 ceeded by the narrow 

 calyx lobes — these lobes 

 falling when the fruit is 

 ripe. Eu. — Rarely cult, 

 in old gardens. 

 AA. Cahjx lohes not pro- 

 longvd and leafi/ : 

 petals usually 

 crowned. 

 B. Tls, 1 in. or less 

 across, in dense, ter- 

 minal cymes or um- 

 bellate heads. 

 {Forms of No. IS 

 may be sought here.) 

 2. Chalceddnica, Linn. 

 Maltese Cross. Jeru- 

 salem Cross. Scarlet 

 Lightning. Fig. 1331. 

 Perennial 2-3 ft. tall, 

 usually loose-hairy, the 

 stems simple or nearly 

 so: Ivs. oblong or cor- 

 1330. Flower of the Com-cocklo date-lanceolate, clasping 

 (Lychnis Githago) in bud. (upper ones often nar- 

 Natural size. row and tapering) , short- 



pointed, hairy: fls. 1 in. 

 long, -with narrow upward-enlarging ribbed calyx 

 and spreading, obcordate-notched limb. June. B.M.257. 

 — Probably Japanese, but long in cult., and one of the 

 best of all old-fashioned flowers. The fls. are usually 

 brick-red to scarlet, but there are varieties with rose- 

 colored, flesh-colored and white blossoms; also with 

 double fls. The arrangement of the petal-limbs sug- 

 gests the Maltese cross, hence one of the common 

 names. Rarely persists for a time as a weed. 



3. iulgens, Fischer (not Hort.). An erect-stemmed 

 perennial, hairy: Ivs. ovate to ovate-oblong, roughish, 

 tapering below but scarcely petioled: fls. few, in a rather 

 dense terminal cluster, bright scarlet, each petal divided 

 into two broad lobes, on the outer side of which are two 

 other and very narrow lobes, the ends of the main lobes 

 slightly toothed ; calyx oblong or ovate, lO-ribbed, with 

 erect teeth. Siberia, China, Japan. B.M. 2104. B.R. 

 6:478. — Perhaps not in cultivation in this country. The 

 plant that passes under this name is probably a form of 

 Jj. coronata. From X. Chalcedonica it is distinguished 

 by lower stature, much larger fls., and the well-marked 

 side teeth or lobes on the petals. 



i. alpina, Linn. Glabrous, tufted, a ft. or less tall- 

 Ivs. mostly at the base, thickish, linear or oblong : fls. 

 pink, with 2-lobed petals (segments linear), and short. 



broad calyx with red teeth. N. Asia., Eu., and Amer. 



B.M. 394. L.B.C. 9:881 (as £. Sueciea).-AD attractive 



alpine. 



BB. Fls. mostly larger, borne 



singly or in loose clusters, 



or at least the clusters not 



all terminal. 



c. Plant white-woolly 

 throughout. 



5. Coroniria, Desv. (Agro- 

 stemma Coronhria, Linn. Cor- 

 ondria tomentdsa, A. Br.). 

 Mdllein Pink. Distv Mil- 

 LEK. Rose Campion. Fig. 

 1332. Biennial or perennial, 

 1-2K ft. tall, forking towards 

 the top : Ivs. oblong, oblong- 

 oval or oblong-spatulate, the 

 lower ones obtuse or nearly 

 so, tapering to a more or less 

 clasping base: fls. large (IK 

 in. across), circular in outline, 

 crimson or rose - crimson, 

 borne singly on the ends of 

 the branches; petals with ap- 

 pendages at the throat; calyx 

 with filiform teeth. Eu. and 

 Asia. B.M. 24. -A common , 

 plant of old gardens, and 

 sometimes escaped. The glow- 

 ing fls. and white foliage make 

 it a conspicuous plant. A hy- 

 brid of this and i. Flos-Jovis 

 is figured InG.C. IIL 2, p. 101. 



6. F16s-J6via, Desv. Per- 

 ennial, 12-18 in., making 

 clump: Ivs. in a rosette, als 

 cauline, oval-lanceolate, more 



or less clasping: fls. small (K in. or less across ), bright 

 red or rose, in a rather dense, umbel-like cluster. Eu. 

 B.M. 398 (as Agrostemma Flos-Jovis). — S&TciY peren- 

 nial, rarely seen in old gardens. 



1331. Lychnis Chalcedonica. 



CO. Plant not n-hit 

 Petals S-notchcd or S-cleff 



woolly, green. 

 (Forms of No. 12 may be 

 sought here.) 



7. Coeli-rosa, Desv. Rose op Heaven. Fig. 1333. A 

 very floriferous annual, 12-18 in., glabrous: Ivs. linear, 

 long-acuminate and very sharp-pointed: fls. on slender 



1332 Lychnis Coronaria 



stems, about an inch across, the petals only slightly 

 notched, rose-red, with a linear bifid scale at the throat; 

 calyx club-shaped. Mediterranean region. B.M. 295 (as 



