344 ALPINE FLOWERS. Part II. 



SPIGELIA yiKB.Tl,KSi'D\Ck..— Wormgrass. 



A MOST distinct and beautiful plant ; the flowers being tubular, 

 an inch and a half long, crimson outside and yellow within, 

 from three to eight borne on a stem from six to fifteen inches 

 high, and as, when the plant is well grown, these stems come up 

 very thickly and form close erect tufts, the effect, when in bloom, 

 is very brilliant. A native of rich woods in North America, from 

 Pennsylvania to Florida and Mississippi, flowering in summer, 

 and increased by careful division of the root. I have not 

 seen it grown to perfection except in deep and moist sandy 

 peat. It is very rare in our gardens, in which it should he 

 placed on the warm side of the rockwork in the soil above 

 mentioned. 



STATICE TATABICA. — Tartarian Sea Lavender. 



A BEAUTIFUL, dwarf, hardy species, with rosy or reddish flowers, 

 contrasting prettily with the white membranaceous bracts ; the 

 leaves leathery, smooth, of a deep green, oblong, lance-shaped, 

 and pointed ; the flower-stems nine to twelve inches high, much 

 branched, [forming a wide-spreading inflorescence. This js the 

 prettiest and most distinct of the dwarf Sea Lavenders I have 

 seen in cultivation, its rose-tinted flowers quite removing it from 

 the often-seen blue sorts, some of which are scarcely orna- 

 mental. There is a variety with narrow leaves and reddish 

 flowers, S. tatarica angustifolia. Both bloom in autumn, 

 thrive best in deep, well-drained, sandy loam, and are admirable 

 for low sunny ledges or banks on or near rockwork. Increased 

 by careful division or by seeds sown in spring, and comes from 

 Tartary. ^. olecefolia, globularicefoUa, eximia, and several other 

 species, are also suitable rock-plants. 



STMPHYANDRA V&VijyUIjA.— Pendulous S. 



A CAMPANULA-LIKE plant, with branched pendulous stems, vel- 

 vety, toothed, and ovate leaves, and very large, cream-coloured, 

 drooping flowers (which are almost hidden amongst the leaves), 

 bell-like and velvety at the throat. It is a very hardy dwarf 

 plant, rarely reaching a foot high ; a native of rocky places 

 in the Caucasus, and easily increased by seed. In consequence 

 of its pendulous habit, it is seen to best effect when elevated to 



