ERIOSTEMON 



EKVNCilUM 



545 



BB. Lvs. 3-i times as long as hrnad. 



intermSdius, Hook. Lvs. 9-lS lines long, elliptical, 

 abruptly pointed: petals lanceolate, white, but tipped 

 with pink outside in the bud like the rest: ovary placed 

 on a flat disk and not ringed at the base. Probably of 

 garden origin. Intermediate between J<J. myoporoides 

 and buxiJolius. B.M. 4439. 



buxifdlias, Sm. Lvs. as in E. intermedins, though 

 perhaps smaller: petals obovate, white, tipped pink; 

 ovary sunk into a double disk of 2 rings. B.M. 4101.— 

 IS. densiflorum, Seghers., R.B. 20:97, looks like a pro- 

 liflc horticultural variety of this species. -^ jj 



EKITElCHIITM. For E. hnrhigerum, see Krynitzlcin. 

 Fox JS. nothofulfiim, see Plagiobothnjs. 



EBODITTM (Greek, a heroti: alluding to the beaked 

 fruit). OeraniAcea'. Heron's Bill or Stork's Bill. 

 This genus contains a few low-growing, hardy herba- 

 ceous perennial plants, with finely cut foliage aud lis. 

 suggesting our wild and hardy Geraniums, from which 

 they differ in having only 5 instead of 10 anther-bearing 

 stamens, the other 5 being reduced to scales; also the 

 tails of the carpels hairy inside. The conjmon Gera- 

 niums of our home windows and summer fiower-beds 

 are the blended product of Pehtrrioniiim zonule and 

 P. inquinans, aud originally had the 2 upper petals dis- 

 tinctly smaller than the 3 lower ones, as do the other 

 wild Pelargoniums from the Cape of Good Hope, while 

 Krodiura and the true genus, Geranium, of which a few 

 sorts are cultivated in our hardy borders, ha^e all 5 

 petals nearly equal in size. They also have small 

 glands alternating with the petals, which are absent 

 from Pelargonium. Erodium has about 50 widely scat- 

 tered species. Herbs, rarely somewhat woody or tufted : 

 Ivg. opposite or alternate, one often smaller than its 

 mate, stipuled, toothed, lobed or dissected: ds. mostly 

 in umbels, of various shades, from crimson-pink to 

 purple, with darker blotches on the 2 upper petals and 

 the venation outlined in darker shades. 



These plants are chiefly for the front row of the 

 hardy borders and the rock-garden, where they thrive 

 in a gritty loam. They like dry. sunny spots, and may 

 be trusted with a conspicuous position, being chiefly 

 valued for their steady succession of bloom from .June 

 to August. Divided plants are chiefly sold here, but the 

 species are easily prop, by seeds. Of E. nioscJtatuni 

 only seeds are sold, and these are sown annually, the 

 species not being hardy. Nos. I and 4 are not native to 

 America, being essentially Asian, but they grow wild in 

 Oalifornha and to some extent in eastern states. Some 

 Erodiums can be grown in chinks tif walls, but not E. 

 Manescdci, which is the strongest-growing, showiest 

 and best kind. 



1. cioutirium, L'H(?rit. Tutted, lower and more slen- 

 <ler than No. 4, less glandular, often with coarse, soft, 

 short hairs: lvs. oblong, 1-2-pinnate; Ifts. small, nearly 

 sessile, the uppermost confluent, more sharply and 

 deeply cut and with narrower lobes ; stipules small, 

 acute: sepals with 1 or 2 terminal bristles: filaments 

 not toothed. Mediterranean regions, Asia. Mn. 7,p. 127. 



2. macradSnium, L'Herit. Remarkable for the great 

 length of tlie roots when twisting among rocks, and 

 strong odor of the foliage. Lvs. hairy, glandular, lJ'2-2 in. 

 long, oblong, pinnate; segments pinnatifid, rachis with 

 a toothed wing: fls. light purple, the 2 upper petals a 

 shade darker, and the spots nearly l)lack. Pyrenees. 

 B.M. 5GGj. 



3. Minescivi, Coss. Height 10-18 in.: lvs. attaining 

 i> in. long, 2'a in. wide; segments alternate, ovate, short- 

 stalked, dentate, "with sometimes a deeper cut : fls. at 

 best 2 in. across, strong rosy purple, tin- spots of the 

 upper petals only a shade or two darker. Pyrenees. 

 Gn. 5.5 : 1220. — Colors stronger and more uniform than 

 No. 3. 



4. moscMtum, L'H(5rit. Mostly stout and glandu- 

 lar: Ifts. large, short-stalked, ovate to elliptical, serrate, 

 broad-lohed : stipules large, rather obtuse : sepals not 

 terminated by bristles: filaments 2-toothed. Mediterra- 

 nean, Orient. W. M. 



ERPfiTION. All referred to riola. 



ERt^CA (etymology in dispute ; probably from the 

 Latin to tnirii, in allusion to the hot seeds). Crucifcrce. 

 Perhaps half a dozen herbs of Eu. and W. Asia, annual 

 or biennial. Allied to Brassica : differs in the shorter, 

 more turgid silirpie, with keeled valves ; style elon- 

 gated; seeds in two rows, E. satlva. Mill., Roquette or 

 Tira, is the only species cult, in this country. It is a 

 weedy, hispid annual, resemliling a Mustard, 2-3 ft. 

 high, with lyrate-pinnatifld lvs. and creamy yellow fls. 

 See JRogtu'fte. L H B 



EK'?NGITJM (a name used by Theophrastus for 

 some sort of thistle). UmhcllUerw. Sea Holly. The 

 Sea Hollies are anmng the most bizarre of garden 

 plants, and are chiefly valued for the steel-blue or 

 purplish cast i.if their rigid stems, prickly foliage and 

 teasel-like heads. They look like thistles, and do not 

 suggest any relation to the umbelliferous family of 

 which the flat-tt»pped, white-flowered umbels of wild 

 carrot are a common example. The genus has perhaps 

 100 species, nicistly spiny herbs. The petals are white. 

 All those described bi-low are perennial. 



The Sea Hollies are too queer aud striking to be used 

 as elements in the most restful and natural home-pic- 

 tures, and their proi>er place is the hardy border, the 

 natural repository for all sorts of curious things. Here 

 they perpetually challenge one's curiosity and interest. 

 There are two very distinct groups of them, one with 

 ranch-cut foliage, as shown in Fig. 776, the other the 



776. Eryngium amethystinum. 



"Pandanus group," with long, undivided leaves. A 

 very different list of species is cult, abroad, but the 

 main types are here now, and a collection of kinds la 

 not as artistic as well massed groups of a single kind. 

 They are slightly used in subtropical bedding. The 

 dried stems retain their color, and are sometimes hung 



