72 POLEMONIUM REPTANS.—CREEPING GREEK VALERIAN. 
ers, dotted with the pure white anthers growing along the Wis- 
sahickon, and telling us that “Spring is come,” there is a 
something impressive which invariably associates them with 
Longfellow's lines. It is a plant easily found by the lover of 
wild flowers, as it has a rather wide distribution in all the states 
east of the Mississippi except those in the extreme north-east, 
and those bordering on the Gulf of Mexico. 
The creeping Greek Valerian is a very easy plant to cultivate, 
and indeed it is when growing in the country gardens of Penn- 
sylvania that it generally receives the name of “ Forget-me-not.” 
A peculiarity of cultivation is that while the amount of foliage is 
increased, there is seldom any more increase in the quantity of 
flowers than we find in a wild state; so that a good strong stock 
in its native place of growth seems more beautiful than one 
growing in a garden. In cultivation, however, we find more 
variety in the shades of color, as they happen to be selected by 
those who bring them in from their wild locations. It is not 
uncommon to find flowers of a brighter blue than we have 
selected for our plate. On the other hand, they are often seen 
of a pure white. In any condition the plant would be regarded 
as pretty, and will bear a strict scrutiny in regard to some claim 
to beauty. The general tendency in the habit of growth is 
towards straight, slender lines, without any great variety in 
length or direction—but the roundish fowers make a fair con- 
trast to the straight lines, and the gentle curve caused by the 
weight of the flowers expresses unity in the general effect. Still, 
it must be admitted that its claim to be a pretty flower lies chiefly 
in the contrast which the blue makes with the white anthers. 
