COBRAS 391 



America, Mexico, and Chili; one — F. cwruleum — is indigenous in the 

 northern half of England. 



Prl^cipaispeci.. PoLEMONIUM C^EULEUM (blue) Greek Valerian; 

 Chanty; Jacobs Ladder. Rootstock short, creeping. 

 Stems angular, hollow, 1 to 3 feet high. Leaves 6 to 18 inches long; 

 leaflets six to twelve pairs, oval-lance-shaped, entire. Flowers blue, 

 nearly an inch across, drooping, numevous, in corymbs ; June and July. 

 There are a number of cultivated varieties ditfei-iu^- in tlie colours of the 

 flowers; one has variegated leaves and wliitr flowers 



P. CONFERTUM (closc together). Stems (J inclies high. Leaves 

 narrow, pinnate, the leaflets numerous and overlapping. Flowers rich 

 blue, half an inch across, in small terminal heads ; June to August. 

 Introduced from the Rocky Mountains, 1885. 



P. HUMILE (lowly). Stems many, downy, 6 inches high. Leaves 

 chiefly radical, with egg-shaped leaflets. Flowei-s blue or purplish, 

 drooping ; July. The plant gives out a faint musky odour. Introduced 

 from the Rocky Mountains, 1827. The var. j^ulchellum is smaller in all 

 its parts, with violet, lavender-blue, or nearly white flowers. 



P. REPTANs (creeping). Rootstock creeping, stems smooth, 6 inches 

 high. Leaves with from seven to eleven egg-shaped leaflets. Flowers 

 blue, drooping, with wedge-shaped corolla-lobes ; April. Introduced from 

 Xorth America, 1758. Sometimes the flowers occur white. 

 Cultivation Polemoniunis succeed in any garden soil, but thrive 



most in rich, deep loam, where the drainage is perfect. 

 F. cterideum is an "old-fashioned flower," to be found doing well in 

 many a cottager's garden. Its thorough hardiness makes it suitable 

 for almost any aspect or situation. Seed may be sown in the border 

 from April to June ; or the tufts may be divided in spring. P. humile 

 and F. reptans are useful for rock-gardens, and for edgings to 

 borders or beds ; the latter is especially desirable on account of its early 



Description of Folemonium ccvruleum, or Jacob's Ladder, including 



Plate 189. the white variety. Fig. 1 is an enlarged section of the 



COBRAS 



Natural Order Polemoniace.^. Genus Cobcea 



CoB^A (named in honour of B. Cobo, a Spanish botanist). A genus of 

 four ornamental greenhouse perennial climbers, with pinnate leaves 



