AQUILEGIA 



BVTTEBGUP OBDEB 



AQUILEGIA 157 



layas. The leaves are twice ternate, the 

 upper ones downy and somewhat glandtilar. 

 Flowers from May to July, few on a stem, 

 white or pale olaret-purple, agreeably 

 fragrant, and slightly downy ; spurs slender, 

 twice as long as the truncated petals, 

 slightly curved, and knobbed at the tips. 

 Culture dc. as above. This plant re- 

 quires a somewhat warm and sheltered 

 position in moist sandy soil. 



A. gflandulosa {Gland/ula/r GoT/wrribine). 

 A very pretty Siberian plant 8-12 in. 

 high, with twice ternate much-lobed leaves. 

 Flowers from April to June, with large 

 deep blue nearly oval sepals, and fine blue 

 petals tipped with creamy white, the spur 

 being stout and much incurved. The 

 variety jucwnda is a smaller plant, but 

 very handsome, and is best treated as a 

 biennial. Seeds may be sown every year 

 to keep up a supply. 



Culture and Propagation. — It is safer 

 to divide this plant for increase before the 

 leaves die down, as it is apt to perish, espe- 

 cially on cold soils, if divided when at rest. 

 In many places A. glandulosa does not 

 flower very freely, either because it is too 

 often disturbed, or the soil is not suffi- 

 ciently rich and well manured. Once the 

 plants are established, they should 

 receive a good dressing of manure every 

 autumn or winter, and they will flourish 

 for four or five years without being 

 disturbed. 



A. glauca. — ^A Himalayan plant 12- 

 18 in. high, with twice ternate leaves of a 

 blue-green sheen. Three to four fragrant 

 white, claret-tinted flowers on a stem 

 appear in June, having straight or 

 slightly curved spurs about ^ in. long. 



Culture tic. as above. As this plant is 

 somewhat tender it may not survive hard 

 winters in unfavourable parts, and would 

 therefore require a little protection. It 

 should be given a warm dry spot. 



A. longissima.^ — -A native of Texas 

 and Mexico, 3-4 ft. high, and closely 

 related to A. chrysantha. The stems and 

 leaves are covered with silky hairs, the 

 under surface of the foliage being bluish- 

 green. The pale yellow or whitish 

 flowers tinged with red appear ia summer 

 and have spurs 4 in. or more long. 



Culture dc. as above. 



A. olympica. — A native of Greece, 

 about 18 in. high, with 2-3 ternate blue- 

 green leaves, and large delicate mauve 



flowers with white petals and short blunt 

 spurs. They appear about April and May 

 and are very effective owing to the con- 

 trast in colour between the sepals and 

 petals. 



Cultwre dc. as above. 



A. pyrenaica. — A pretty rock or 

 border plant 9-12 in. high, native of 

 the Pyrenees. Leaves 1-2 ternate, deep 

 green with linear segments. Flowers 

 from April to June, one to three on a 

 stem, bright lUac-blue, with slender spurs 

 nearly straight, about | in. long, and 

 scarcely knobbed at the top. 



Culture dc. as above. 



A. sibirica {A. bicolor; A garnieri- 

 ama ; A. speciosa). — A pretty rookery 

 plant about 12 in. high, native of Siberia, 

 and having 2 ternate leaves. Flowers in 

 June and July, many on smooth stems, 

 bright lilac, with blunt sepals, the limb of 

 the petals sometimes white ; spurs stout, 

 much incurved, J-J in. long. 



The double-flowered form flore plena 

 is a more ornamental plant. It is simUar 

 in habit to the type, but has heads of 

 double flowers, the spurs of which always 

 point downwards instead of upwards. 

 They are blue and white in colour, but 

 sometimes yellowish, and present a very 

 handsome appearance when seen in 

 masses. 



Culture dc. as above. 



A. Skinneri,— A noble and distinct 

 border species 2-3 ft. high, from the 

 mountains of Guatemala, with leaves 

 twice ternately divided and unequally 

 lobed. The large handsome flowers are 

 borne on slender stalks from June to 

 August, with red or greenish lance-shaped 

 sepals, small golden-yeUow petals, and 

 straight spurs about 2 in. long, and of a 

 bright orange -red. 



Culture dc. as above. This should be 

 grown in warm sandy loam. Several 

 forms, apparently hybrids between A. 

 Skmneri and A. vulgaris, have appeared, 

 and seem to possess a more vigorous con- 

 stitution than the typical A. Shinneri. 

 The flowers also vary a good deal in 

 colour, as might be expected, and red, blue 

 and yellow shades are not uncommon. 

 These primary colours will serve to pro- 

 duce a vast number of intermediate shades 

 in due course. Any exceptionally fine 

 variety can only be kept pure by division 

 of the rootstocks as advised above at 

 p. 155. 



