346 



THE ROCK-ROSE FAMILY. 



like. Leaves: loosely imbricated, scattered along the branches ; needle shaped; 

 sharply pointed; minutely pubescent. Alow, tufted shrub two to four inches 

 high, branching from the base. 



On one or two mountain tops in North Carolina this quaint little plant 

 blooms freely. Of the three species which are natives of North America it 



is the most rare and its habitat the most restricted. On Hawk's Bill and 

 Table Rock, that quaint, flat peak, of aspect so different when seen from 

 various neighbouring high points, it forms in its heather-like way a close, 

 often interwoven growth, turning thus to a carpet of green, rocky, jagged 

 places,- and retaining its freshness until late in the season, when gaunt pines 

 are perhaps all that have not shed their leaves. 



H. ericoides, a more northern species, although extending to Virginia, is 

 sometimes seen in cultivation as a rock garden plant. 



THE VIOLET FAMILYe 



ViolacecB. 



Chiefly herbs with simple^ alternate^ stipulate^ or basal leaves with 

 7?iargi?is entire, or variously cut or Jobed ; and which bear irregular^ 

 nodding floivers growing on bracted peduncles. 



