612 Classification of Plants. 
and a few of the Filices or Ferns. Without entering into details, 
which will be found elsewhere, we may indicate a few of the 
best. of those most readily procured : Bocconia cordata, Gunnera 
scabra, Heracleum flavescens, Ferula communis, Rheum undu- 
latum, Polygonum cuspidatum, Bambusa falcata, Gynerium 
argenteum, Cannabis sativa, Asparagus officinalis, Aspidistra 
lurida, Phormium tenax, Osmunda_ regalis, Polystichum 
aculeatum, Pteris aquilina, Lastrea dilatata, L. Filix-mas and 
Athyrium Filix-foemina. Several others might be included in 
this enumeration, but they find a place more properly with the 
marsh and water plants. Ricinus communis and Melianthus 
major are usually treated as herbaceous, the former as an annual 
and the latter as a perennial. The next group comprises 
plants of moderate size, and includes numerous species with 
variegated or coloured foliage, several of which are tender 
and only employed for summer decoration. But as almost 
all hardy genera and a vast number of species are represented 
by variegated varieties, it will be obvious that we must limit 
ourselves to a selection of those grown exclusively for their 
foliage. A few may be mentioned here with the foliage plants 
that are equally desirable for their flowers, such as Astilbe 
Japonica, Spiraea Filipendula, $. Aruncus, etc., Polemonium 
ceruleum, Amaranthus caudatus, and A. melancholicus, Pelar- 
gonium varieties, Morina longifolia, Canna species and varieties, 
Achillea spp., etc. Others, again—as Centaurea Ragusina and 
other species, Ligularia Kempferi, Cineraria maritima, Perilla 
Nankinensis, Iresine Herbstii, etc., Coleus (many varieties), 
Funkia, Brassica, Lamium maculatum, Phalaris arundinacea 
variegata, Mentha rotundifolia variegata, and Tricolor Pelar- 
goniums—are grown for their variegated or coloured foliage. 
Amongst dwarf or trailing plants, the variegated or coloured 
varieties of Arabis albida, A. lucida, Gazania splendens, 
Bellis perennis, Trifolium repens, Alternanthera (various), 
Alyssum maritimum, Thymus vulgaris, ete, are some of 
the best for front rows or for edging. Cerastium tomen- 
tosum, Helichrysum petiolatum, and Stachys lanata, have 
greyish, or silvery velvety foliage. Another set of dwarf 
plants, belonging chiefly to the Crassulacee and Saxifragaces, 
are in request, on account of their formal habit, and the regular 
disposition of their variously tinted leaves in rosettes. With 
the foregoing, many tender herbs and shrubs with ornamental 
foliage are associated, including several species of Solanum, 
