POLEMONIUM 



PHLOX OBDEB 



POLEMONIUM 665 



G. inconspicua. — A native of North 

 America 9-12 in. high. Leaves mostly 

 pinnately parted, or twice pinnately cut 

 below, with short, mucronate, tailed lobes. 

 Flowers in August, violet or purple, 

 narrowly funnel - shaped, somewhat 

 crowded or in loose panicles. 



Culture dc. as above. 



G. laciniata. — A Chilian annual 6-12 

 in. high. Leaves pinnately cut into 

 narrow oblong sinuate segments. Flow- 

 ers in July, purplish, 3-6, clustered 

 together in the leaf axUs. 



Culture dc. as above. 



G. liniflora. — A native of California, 

 about 1 ft. high, with lower leaves sessile 

 and palmately cut. Flowers in summer, 

 white, solitary, on long stalks. 



Culture dc. as above. 



G. micrantha {Leptosiphon roseus). 

 A Californian annual, about 9 in. high, 

 more or less covered with longish, weak 

 hairs. Leaves 5-7-parted, with linear 

 acute segments. Flowers produced in 

 great abundance in summer, rosy, with 

 a slender tube about Ij in. long. The 

 variety aurea has golden-yellow flowers. 



Culture dc. as above. 



G. multicaulis. — A native of California, 

 about 1 ft. high. Leaves smoothish, cut 

 into linear segments. Flowers in sum- 

 mer, blue, 3-10 in a corymb, on very 

 long stalks. 



Culture dc. as above. 



G. tricolor. — A pretty Californian 

 annual about 1 ft. high, with leaves twice 

 pinnately divided into linear, awl-shaped 

 segments. Flowers in June, in dense 

 panicles ; corolla with an orange-yellow 

 tube and centre, and a band of deep 

 purple between the white or pale purple 

 margin. 



There are many forms of this species, 

 some having white, rose, and violet- 

 coloured flowers. They can aU be obtained 

 from a packet of mixed seed. Some of 

 the best known forms are alba, atro- 

 violacea, rosea, splendens, and violacea. 



Culture dc. as above. 



POLEMONIUM (Jacob's Ladder). 

 A genus containing 8-9 species of peren- 

 nial, rarely annual, tall or dwarf herbs, 

 sometimes rather clammy, often with a 

 thickish creeping rootstock. Leaves al- 

 ternate, pinnately cut. Flowers in loosely 

 corymbose or somewhat capitate cymes at 

 the ends of the branches, blue, violet, or 



white, often showy. Calyx bell-shaped, 

 membranous or herbaceous, scarcely 

 ribbed, 5-cleft. Corolla shortly fimnel- 

 shaped or broadly bell-shaped or some- 

 what rotate with obovate lobes. Stamens 

 5, disc crenate. Capsule ovoid, blunt, 

 3-valved, 2-12 seeds in each cell. 



Culture and Propagation. — Pole- 

 moniums flourish in rich deep well- 

 drained loam, but will grow well in any 

 good garden soil. They may be increased 

 by dividing the ' stools ' in autumn or 

 early spring. Most of the species ripen 

 seed freely, and new plants may be secured 

 by sowing either in autumn or spring, and 

 transplanting the seedlings during mild 

 showery weather at either season when 

 large enough. They are excellent border 

 plants and are strikingly handsome and 

 effective when in blossom. 



P. caeruleum {Charity; Greek Va- 

 lerian ; Jacob's Ladder). — A beautiful 

 perennial 1-3 ft. high, found in copses and 

 near streams in parts of the British 

 Islands, and also distributed throughout 

 the northern hemisphere. Leaves 4-18 

 in. long, cut into 6-12 pairs of entire 

 ovate or oblong lance-shaped acute leaf- 

 lets, j-1^ in. long. Flowers in June and 

 July, ^,-1 hi. across, blue or white, droop- 

 ing or erect, with roundish oval petals. 

 The variety dissectum has the leaves 

 twice pinnately divided into stalked pin- 

 natifid leaflets with linear segments. 

 Variegatum has beautiful variegated 

 leaves finely divided and graceful in out- 

 line, and white flowers. Himalayanum 

 is a Himalayan variety with lilac-blue 

 flowers, li Ln. across, with hairy stalks 

 and calyx. Campanulatum from the 

 Caucasus has leaves pinnately divided into 

 lance-shaped leaflets, and produces droop- 

 ing bell-shaped flowers of a bright lilac 

 blue, in the centre of which the golden- 

 tipped stamens are very conspicuous. It 

 likes partially shaded spots. 



CiUture dc. as above. 



P. confertum. — A Eocky Mountain 

 perennial about 6 in. high. Leaves pin- 

 nately divided into nimierous overlapping 

 leaflets, varying in shape from roundish 

 ovate to linear oblong. Flowers in sum- 

 mer, rich blue, funnel-shaped, about ^ in. 

 across, clustered on the ends of the stalks. 

 This is a very fine plant when well- 

 grown. 



Culture do. as above. 



