PLUME POPPY 



PLUME POPPY. BOCCONIA 



Boccbnia cordala. 



Named for Bocconi, an Italian botanist. 



A tall perennial with leafy stems and cordate, orbicular, lobed leaves; 

 bearing long terminal pjanicles of white flowers in summer. In general 

 appearance very unlike a Poppy. Midsummer. China. 



Stem. — Simple, erect, six to eight feet high, leafy. 



Leaves. — Alternate, orbicular,' cordate, lobed, pale-green above, 

 silvery beneath. 



Flowers. — Cream-white or pale-rose, small, borne in plume-like 

 panicles. 



Calyx. — Two oblong sepals, a quarter of an inch long. 



Stamens. — Many. 



Ovary. — One-celled. 



Stigma. — ^Two-lobed. 



Capsule. — ^Many-seeded. 



The Plume Poppy is as much unlike our idea of a Poppy as 

 can well be. In the first place, the stem is very tall; in the second, 

 it bears a plumy panicle of many 

 small flowers, not one of which ever 

 had any corolla, whose sepals did 

 duty while the flowers were in bud, 

 but departed immediately the buds 

 opened, so that each flower consists 

 principally of a group of slender di- 

 verging stamens. These are crowded 

 and so form a feathery mass. 



In many respects the plant is dis- 

 appointing. It seems better adapted 



r J" i_ ._ • J.1 £ 1 Leaf of Plume Poppy. Boccbnia 



for a distant view than for close re- cord&tl 



lations along the garden walk. 



Doubtless, it can be utilized successfully in lawn or park plant- 

 ing, where its gray foliage would add a touch of desired color. 



The root suckers freely and when well established is hard to 

 eradicate. 



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