XERANTHEMUM 



XEROPHYLLUM 



1997 



eeclii 



XEKOPHtLLUM (Greek, ih-y leaf). LiliAc 

 KEv's Beard. The Turkey's 

 is a strong perennial herl 

 a or 4 ft. high reseml 1 na 

 the asphodel It has •» 

 dense tuft of numerous 

 long, wiry leaves from the 

 center of which spnngs a 

 statelv shaft sometimes 5 

 ft. high, with an oval oi 

 oblong raceme m long 

 crowded with yellowi li 

 white B- parted lis ei h 

 H in. across It blooms 

 from May to Juh fls with 

 delicate fragrance li ting a 

 long time. It is a hand 

 somer plant than the i 

 phodel, but, like man\ 

 other native plants it 

 beauty was first nppreci 

 ated in England and it has 

 only lately found fa\ or in 

 American gardens \ 

 setifoUum,oraspholeloi 1 t, 

 as it is known to the tride 

 is considered one of the 

 choicest plants for English 

 bog gardens. The posses 

 sion of several large clum j s 

 is especially to be desire i 

 as each plant flowers c 

 freely that it requires a 

 year or two to reco^ er 

 Unfortunately the plant 

 does not seed freely an 1 

 propagation 1 y division is 

 a slow process which must 

 be performed with f^ic 

 care in the sprii g It 



what shaded s tuiti n ai I 

 a peaty soil. The i r 1 al 1 

 ity is that the Turkej s 

 Beard can be grown in any 

 sandy soil that has been 

 liberally enriched with 

 well-rotted leaf -mold in a 

 spot that is reasonably dry 

 in winter. The species is 

 a native of the dry pint- 

 barrens from southern N. 

 J. to eastern Tenn. and Ga. 

 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. Dotiglasii, 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 

 Mnear. rough-edged leaves, the upper ones shorter 

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

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

 oblong or ovate, 5-7-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. 



setifdlium, Michx. (X. aspliodeloldes, Nutt.). Fig. 

 2759. A tall hardy 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 Selonias asphodeloides). Gng. 1:173. A.F. 7:171. 



e IS ft. long; perianth -segments 



equaling the xtamens: Ivx. about 2 lines wid*. 



pedicels longer, mostly 1-S in. long. 



tdnax, Nutt. Distinguished 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. 



19:1013 (erroneously as X. setifolium). ^ ji_ 



