Part 11. CHIMAPHILA—CONVALLARIA. 171 



CHIMAPHILA MAGULATA— 5/o//«rf Wintergreen. 



A LOW wood plant of Nortli America, having leathery, shining, 

 shghtly toothed leaves, the upper surface of which is pleasingly 

 variegated with white, and bearing whitish umbellate flowers — 

 one to five — on rather long stems. The plant attains a height of 

 only from three to six inches, and is a very suitable subject for 

 a half shady and mossy, but not wet, place in the rock-garden, 

 associating well with such plants as the dwarf Andromedas and 

 the Pyrolas, and succeeding best in very sandy decomposed 

 leaf-soil. 



C. umbellata, with glossy unspotted leaves, and somewhat 

 larger reddish flowers, is suited for like positions. Both are 

 rare in cultivation and very seldom seen well grown. They 

 flower in summer, and are increased by careful division. 



COLGHICTJM 'VhS.TE.GrA.'S-UM.—Chegua-ed Meadow Saffron. 



This is the prettiest of the easily procured Colchicujns, and is 

 often grown under the name of, and mixed with, 'the common 

 meadow Saffron, C. autumnale, but is distinguished by its rosy 

 flowers being distinctly and regularly mottled over with purple 

 spots, and being more open, and its leaves undulated. Like the 

 common species, it flowers abundantly in autumn, grows well in 

 oi-dinary soil, and may be tastefully associated with the autumn- 

 flowering Crocuses on rockwork, borders, or edgings to beds of 

 dwarf shrubs, &c. There are several varieties, both double and 

 single, of the common meadow Saffron worthy of cultivation. 



The large-leaved C. byzantinum and the small C. alpinutn are 

 also worthy of a place. Most of the species grow so readily in 

 almost any soil that they are excellent subjects for naturalisation 

 in grassy places in the pleasure-ground and woodland glades. 



OONTALLARIA M.hZKlJZ.~Lily-of-the-valley. 



So long have we been accustomed to this in our gardens that 

 we can scarcely think of it as an alpine plant. But as the traveller 

 ascends the flanks of many a great alp, he sees it sweetly bloom- 

 ing low among the Hazels and other mountain shrubs ; and it is 

 widely distributed over Europe and Russian Asia, from the Medi- 

 terranean to the Arctic Circle. It is needless to say anything of 



