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PB ACTIO AL GUIDE TO GABDEN PLANTS 



MOBINA 



Flowers in July, rosy-carmine, larger and 

 brighter than those of C. ruber. There 

 is a white-flowered variety, and also a 

 strain called nana remarkable for its 

 dwarf compact habit. It forms dense 

 tufts, about 9-12 in. high, the plants being 

 literally covered with blossom. 

 Couture rfc. as above. 



C. ruber {Bed Valerian; Pretty 

 Betsy). — A beautiful and well-known 

 perennial 2-3 ft. high, native of Europe, 

 N. Africa, W. Asia, and naturalised in 

 the British Islands. Leaves ovate or 

 lance-shaped, 2-4 in. long, the lower ones 

 stalked, upper sessOe, sometimes toothed 

 at the base. Flowers from June to 

 September, red or white, in dense 

 corymbose panicles. Spur slender. 



Culture dc. as above. 



FEDIA. — A genus closely alHed to 

 the preceding containing only the one 

 species here described : — 



F. Cornucopix. — A pretty glaucous 

 annual native of S. Europe and N. Africa, 

 with purplish stems about 6 in. high, and 

 ovate-oblong toothed leaves ; lower ones 

 stalked, upper sessile. Flowers in July, 

 red, lilac-rose, or carmine, in corymbose 

 fascicles with hollow stalks. Calyx 2-4- 

 toothed. Corolla 2-lipped with an elon- 

 gated tube ; upper lip 2-lobed, lower one 

 3-lobed. 



CuMure and Propagation. — This 

 species is easily grown in ordinary soil 

 and may be used as a bordering or in the 

 lower parts of the rockery. Being an 

 annual it may be readily raised from 

 seeds sown in the open border in April, 

 afterwards thinning the seedlings out. 



LXI. DIPSACEiE— Teasel Order 



An order containing 5 genera and about 125 species of biennial or perennial 

 herbs, with opposite rarely verticillate, entire, toothed, or lobed leaves, no 

 stipules, and flowers in heads surrounded by an involucre. Cal3rx-limb 

 superior, cup-shaped, entire, lobed or ciliated with five or more rigid bristles. 

 Corolla funnel-shaped or cylindric, often curved ; lobes 4-5, blunt. Stamens 

 2 or 4, inserted on the corolla tube, often protruding. Fruit indehiscent, 

 covered by the hardened involucel. 



MORINA. — A genus containing 

 about 8 species of smooth or softly 

 downy, perennial. Thistle-like herbs, with 

 oblong, sinuate, spiny-toothed, rarely 

 entire leaves, and flowers crowded in 

 whorls in the axils of the bracts or floral 

 leaves. Corolla long, tubular, gaping. 

 Stamens 4 (2 long, 2 short). 



Cultv/re and Propagation. — -Morinas 

 thrive in rich sandy loam, and require 

 a little shade and shelter. The roots may 

 be divided to increase the plants as soon 

 as flowering is completely over, and new 

 roots will thus have a chance to develop 

 before the winter frosts set in. 



Unless division is performed in early 

 autumn it will be safer to defer the opera- 

 tion until spring. Seeds may be sown also 

 when ripe in rich sandy loam in a cold 

 frame. When the young plants are large 

 enough to handle they may be pricked out 

 into pots, and it is often safer to grow them 

 on thus until the second year, before trans- 

 ferring to the open ground. They are ef- 

 fective plants in the border or rockery, and 

 are perfectly hardy in the milder parts of 



the country. In the northern parts, how- 

 ever, they may require the protection of a 

 little dry litter in severe winters. 



M. betonicoides. — A beautiful her- 

 baceous perennial 12-18 in. high, native of 

 the Sikkim Himalayas. Ithaslinear lance- 

 shaped Thistle-Uke leaves with spiny teeth 

 or hairs on the margins, and during the 

 summer mouths bears heads of bright 

 rosy-purple flowers with a crunson spot 

 at the base of the three lower lobes of the 

 curved funnel-shaped corolla. 



Culture dc. as above. 



M. coulteriana. — A pretty species 6-18 

 in. high, native of the Western Himalayas, 

 with narrow, spiny-edged leaves. Flowers 

 in summer, pale yellow, in terminal heads, 

 bracts united into a broad cup, with rigid 

 spines. 



Culture dc. as above. 



M. longifolia. — A distinct and hand- 

 some Himalayan perennial about 2 ft. high 

 or more. Leaves Thistle-like, about 1 ft 

 long, less than 2 in. wide, pinnatifid, with 

 wavy and rather spiny-toothed margins. 



