JULY, AUGUST, AND SEPTEMBEJi. 191 



which has here and there escaped from the garden 

 to the roadside. D. Ajacis (Eocket Larkspur) is a 

 common garden variety like the foregoing, except 

 that the flowers are crowded in a 

 long raceme (stalk), and are more 

 showy ; and the spur is shorter. It 

 has something like ten distinct vaii,- 

 eties of color, mostly ranging through 

 bluej purple, and crimson. There 

 are three varieties native to this coun- 

 try, which are found mostly south 

 and west of Pennsylvania. They are 

 named D. asureum, with blue or 

 white flowers which appear in spring ; 

 D. tricorne, a dwarf variety one foot 

 high with flowers like the foregoing, 

 but more showy ; and D. exaltatum, 

 a tall variety resembling the garden ^^ ^^"'' 



rocket, which flowers in summer. These wild vai-ie- 

 ties are all perennials. A very beautiful blue variety, 

 which grows wild among the Pyrenees, is called D. 

 peregrimmi ; this is one of the bluest wild flowers 

 I have ever seen, excepting the gentians of the Alps 

 and Pyrenees. Larkspur is a member of the Crow- 

 foot family, and is therefore related to the butter- 

 cup, nigella, columbine, monkshood, baneberry, and 

 black snakeroot. 



