GYPSOPHILA 



CARNATION OBDEB 



SAPONAEIA 249 



G. paniculata.— A beautifully light and 

 graceful perennial, forming a dense com- 

 pact bush 2-3 ft. high, native of Europe. 

 Stems much branched, knotty, smooth 

 and gUstening, very slender and fragile. 

 Leaves linear, lance-shaped, opposite, 

 without stalks. Flowers during the 

 summer, small, white, very numerous, 

 borne on stif&sh threadlike stalks. 



Culture amd Propagation. — Although 

 this species may be increased by dividing 

 the thickish roots in spring, it is as a rule 

 better to raise the plants from seeds. 

 These may be sown thinly out of doors in 

 April and May in a warm and not too 

 sunny border with finely prepared soil. 

 As soon as the plants are large enough to 

 handle easily they may be pricked out 

 into another bed, afterwards keeping them 

 well watered and shaded untU established. 

 By the end of September, or in mild 

 weather in spring, the young plants may 

 be moved to their flowering positions in 

 the flower border. They will not bloom 

 so well the first and second year as after- 

 wards, but once established they produce 

 immense clouds of blossom annually, 

 and are very valuable for cutting for 

 bouquets, room decoration &c., either in 

 masses by themselves or mixed with other 

 flowers. 



G. perfoliata. — A pereimial 1^-3 ft. 

 high, native of S.W. Europe. Leaves 

 smooth, lance-shaped, acute, more or less 

 stem-clasping. Flowers in summer, pink, 

 in forked clammy panicles. 



Culture dc. as for G. pa/niculata. 



G. repens. — This is a pretty perennial 

 species 3-6 in. high, native of the Euro- 

 pean Alps, vnth smooth linear leaves, 

 and white or rose-coloured flowers from 

 July to September, borne in 3-forked 

 corymb-like clusters. 



Culture do. as above for G. paniculata. 

 A very useful plant for the rockery. 



G. scorzoneraefolia. — A Crimean peren- 

 nial 1-3 ft. high. Leaves lance-shaped 

 acute, more or less stem-clasping, 3-5- 

 nerved and 3-4 in. long. Flowers from 

 July to September, white, numerous, in 

 slightly clammy panicles. 



Culture dc. as above for G. panicu- 

 lata. 



G. Steveni. — A Caucasian perennial 1- 

 2 ft. high, with linear lance-shaped, keeled, 

 gray leaves, nearly all radical. Flowers 



from July to September, white, panicled ; 

 petals broadly linear, blunt, not notched. 



Culture dc. as above for G. panicu- 

 lata. 



G. viscosa. — This pretty annual is a 

 native of the East. It resembles G. 

 elegans in height and appearance, and 

 has been considered simply as a rosy- 

 flowered form of that species. It differs, 

 however, in having a more blue-green 

 appearance and more knotted and leafy 

 stems. The flowers are borne on shorter 

 and more erect stalks, and are white 

 flushed with rose, and slightly fragrant. 

 There are other minor differences, among 

 which may be mentioned the clamminess 

 of the stems, and the somewhat broader 

 and rather stem-clasping leaves. 



Culture dc. as above for G. elegans. 



SAPONARIA (Fuller's Hekb ; 

 Soapwort). — A genus containing about 

 30 species, some of which are annual, with 

 a habit like the Gypsophilas, and some 

 perennial with growth like the Silenes. 

 Calyx ovoid or oblong tubular, 5-toothed, 

 obscurely nerved. Petals 5, narrow-clawed, 

 with an entire or notched blade, scaly or 

 not at the base. Stamens 10. Styles 2 

 or very rarely 3. 



Culture amd Propagation. — Sapo- 

 narias grow well in sandy, loamy, well- 

 drained soil and may be utilised in the 

 rock garden, borders, edges of shrubberies, 

 waste places, old banks &c. The perennial 

 species are easily increased by seeds or by 

 dividing the roots. The seeds of annual 

 and biennial kinds should be sown in 

 April and May in the places where the 

 plants are to bloom, or earlier in the year 

 on a hotbed or warm greenhouse, after- 

 wards transferring the seedhngs to the 

 open air about the end of May. 



S. csspitosa. — A pretty alpine peren- 

 nial 3-6 in. high, native of the Pyrenees. 

 Leaves in dense tufts, smooth, rather thick, 

 linear, rough at the edges, keeled behind. 

 Flowers in summer, bright rose, some- 

 what umbellate ; petals obovate, entire, 

 with 2 awl-shaped scales at the throat. 



Culture dc. as for S. officinalis below. 

 This species makes a good carpeting be- 

 neath taller plants, but although it Ukes 

 shade and shelter must not be suffocated 

 with coarser plants. 



S. calabrica. — A beautiful annual 6-12 

 in. high, native of Calabria, with erect, 

 forked stems. Leaves obovate spoon- 

 shaped, usually 1-nerved, smooth or 



