FLOWERS OF GARDEN AND GREENHOUSE 
from Persia twenty-three years later. We shall here mention only those 
species that are chiefly grown in our gardens to-day. 
Silene acaulis (stemless). Moss Campion, or Cushion 
species. a densely-tufted, moss-like perennial, about 2 inches 
high, with closely-set bright green awl-shaped leaves, and solitary pink 
flowers, | inch in diameter. Petals and scales notched. Flowers June to 
August. There is a white-flowered form (var. alba). It occurs wild on 
British alpine rocks. 
S. Armeria (Sweetwilliam). Lobel’s Catchfly. An annual with 
branching stem, 12 to 18 inches high, and lance-shaped leaves. Flowers 
in panicles, with long club-shaped calyx, petals pink with long scales; 
July to September. 
S. Atocion (Atocion-like). An annual with branched downy stems 
(6 to 12 inches) and broad, egg-shaped leaves; the lower stalked, the 
upper stalkless. Flowers in erect panicles. Calyx long, club-shaped; 
petals heart-shaped, pink. June and July. Introduced from the Levant 
(1781). 
S. comp acta (compact). Similar to 8. Armeria, but larger, prettier, 
and more leafy; yet less hardy. A smooth, glaucous annual or biennial, 
with erect, branching stems (18 inches) and dense corymbs of pink 
flowers. A native of Asia Minor (introduced 1828). This must not be 
confounded with the var. compacta of 8. pendula. See below. 
S. Elizabeth® (Elizabeth’s). A dwarf perennial with tufted, more 
or less erect stems (9 inches), covered with sticky down. Leaves lance¬ 
shaped, sticky. Flowers large (1£ inch across), in terminal panicles. 
Calyx with purple margins; petals rosy. July. A native of the Tyrol 
(introduced 1863). 
S. maritima (maritime). A native perennial with a fleshy rootstock 
and many spreading stems. The leaves are long, egg-shaped or oblong 
lance-shaped, glaucous. Flowers white, an inch across; two to four in a 
cluster; petals cleft, with white scales at the base of the limb; calyx 
much inflated, bladder-like, with strongly marked network of nerves. 
April to August. There is a double var. flore pleno, in cultivation. 
S. ORNATA (adorned). A strong-growing downy annual or biennial 
with erect, branched stems, 2 feet high, and blunt lance-shaped leaves. 
Flowers in panicles; the calyx cylindrical, striped and veined; petals 
dark purple, two-cleft, with broad lobes. May to September. A green¬ 
house plant, introduced from South Africa a hundred and twenty years ago. 
S. pendula (flowers hanging down). A downy annual about 1 foot 
high, with branched trailing stems and oval lance-shaped leaves. The 
rosy-purple, white, or flesh-coloured flowers are produced solitarily from 
