150 



ALPINE FLOWERS FOR GARDENS 



[PART II. 



plant, have like value to the above-named 

 for the rock-garden. 



ACIS. A small genus of bulbous 

 plants, natives of South Europe, of 

 which few species are in cultiva- 

 tion. 



Acis autumnalis (Autumnal A.}. A 

 like slender-leaved little bulbous mountain 

 plant, with stems 3 or 4 inches high, 

 bearing flowers, resembling delicate pink 

 snowdrops, drooping elegantly on short 

 reddish footstalks, and blooming in 

 autumn before the leaves appear. It 

 is a true gem for the rock-garden, where 



lii) 



Acis Autumnalis. 



it should be planted in a warm soil and 

 sunny position, sheltered with a few 

 stones, and on which it would look very 

 well springing from a carpet of delicate, 

 feeble - rooting Sedum or other dwarf 

 plant. I have never seen it in nurseries 



except about Edinburgh. Where the soil 

 is of a fine sandy nature, it will thrive 

 as a border plant, but is as yet rare. 

 Europe. 



The other kinds are Acis trichpphylla, 

 rosea, and hyemalis, all of which will 

 thrive where the soil is of a fine sandy 

 nature, but are yet so rare as to be worthy 

 of the best position and care. Mr Elwes 

 doubts if any of these plants will thrive 

 in the open air in England. Syn., 

 Leucojum. 



ADONIS (Ox-Eye). Handsome 

 plants of the Buttercup order ; dwarf 

 in stature, with finely divided 

 leaves, and red, yellow, or straw- 

 coloured flowers. There are about 

 fifteen or sixteen species, most of 

 which are annuals, and, with the 

 exception of two or three fine kinds, 

 they are not suitable for the rock- 

 garden, but the kinds named are 

 excellent for it. 



Adonis vernalis (Ox-Eye). A hand- 

 some alpine perennial, forming dense tufts, 

 8 inches to 15 inches high of finely divided 

 leaves in whorls along the stems. It 

 flowers in spring, when the tufts are 

 covered with large, yellow, Anemone-like 

 flowers, 3 inches in diameter, a single 

 flower at the end of each stem. 



Of A vernalis there are several varieties, 

 the chief being A. v. sibirica, which differs 

 in having larger flowers. A. apennina is 

 a later blooming form. 



A. pyrenaica is a closely allied kind 

 from the Eastern Pyrenees, with large 

 yellow flowers like A. vernalis^ but with 

 broader petals, flowering in April and 

 May. It may be grown in free, sandy 

 moist loam, and not often disturbed, 

 robbed, or shaded by coarser plants. 



A. amurensis. Like the A. pyrenean 

 in habit, this flowers with the snowdrops, 

 and is of easy culture save that, until 

 plentiful, it should be grown on the rock- 

 garden, in moist, sandy loam, well drained. 



dSTHIONEMA (Silvery Cress). 

 Elegant greyish rock plants, found on 

 the sunny mountains near the Medi- 



