674 



PB ACTIO AL GUIDE TO OABDEN PLANTS thachystemon 



5 -toothed calyx. May be used in the 

 same way as 8. asperrimum. 



Culture dc. as above. 



S. officinale. — This well-known British 

 plant is variously known as Alum, Black 

 Root, Common Comfrey, Knitback &c. 

 It grows 1-3 ft. high, and has ovate 

 roughish, alternate, oval, lance-shaped 

 leaves, 4-8 in. long, those of the stem 

 being decurrent. Flowers in May and 

 June, yellowish white or purple, tubular, 

 about 1 in. long, in cfosier-like cymes. 

 The variety album has white flowers ; 

 bohemicum from Bohemia has red or 

 reddish-purple flowers, and grows only 

 about l-li ft. high ; hiteorina/rginatum, 

 as the name indicates, has the leaves 

 margined with yellow ; and patens is 

 recognised by its purple flowers. 



Culture dc. as above. 



BORAGO (Borage). — A genus of erect 

 annual or perennial herbs with alternate 

 leaves and rather long-stalked blue 

 flowers in loose cymes. Calyx with 5 

 linear segments. Corolla with a short 

 tube, rotate or widely spreading bell- 

 shaped, often with scales or bosses at the 

 throat, 5-lobed. Stamens 5, protruding or 

 enclosed. Ovary distinctly 4-lobed. Nut- 

 lets 4, ovoid or oblong. 



Culture amd, Propagation. — The 

 Borages flourish in ordinary soil and 

 are useful for naturalising in poor dry 

 parts of the garden. They may be 

 increased by dividing the rootstocks in 

 spring ; by putting cuttings of the shoots 

 in sandy soil in a cold frame in summer 

 and autumn ; or from seeds sown in fairly 

 good soil from March to May, the seed- 

 lings being thinned out to a foot or 18 in. 

 apart. 



B. laKiflora. — A decumbent hairy 

 Corsican species with oblong roughish 

 leaves in rosettes at the base, the stem 

 ones half- clasping. Flowers from May to 

 August, pale blue, in drooping racemes. 



Culture do. as above. It grows freely 

 on sandy soil in sunny situations. 



B. longifolia. — A native of Numidia, 

 about 1 ft. high. Lower leaves linear 

 lance-shaped, roughish and downy be- 

 neath, upper ones half stem-claspiiig. 

 Flowers in July and August, blue, with 

 ovate acute spreading segments, and 

 borne in terminal bracteate panicles. 

 Culture dc. as above. 

 B. officinalis {Common Borage). — A 



British species 1-2 ft. high, with lower 

 leaves obovate, narrowed at the base ; 

 stem leaves oblong, sessile, rather lobed 

 at the base. Flowers from June to Sept- 

 ember, blue, purple or white, with ovate- 

 acute spreading segments, alternating vidth 

 the hairy lance-shaped lobes of the calyx. 



This is the species used for flavouring 

 drinks, and is often found in waste spots 

 flowering profusely. 



Culture dc. as above. 



B. orientalis. — A vigorous Turkish 

 species 8-15 in. high, with thick blackish 

 creeping roots and heart-shaped hairy 

 leaves, nearly all radical. Flowers in 

 early spring, bluish, with ovate, blunt, 

 reflexed lobes, and borne in panicled 

 clusters. Stamens greatly protruding. 



Culture dc. as above. May be natura- 

 lised in dry, rough places, banks &c., in 

 shady or exposed sunny situations. 



TRACHYSTEMON. — A genus 

 having only a couple of species of erect 

 branching hairy perennials, often with 

 large long-stalked radical leaves, those of 

 the stems being fewer, smaller, and alter- 

 nate. The flowers have a beU-shaped 

 5-lobed caly^, and also a corolla with a 

 cylindrical tube, and 5 spreading or re- 

 flexed lobes. Stamens 5, much protruding. 

 Ovary lobes 4 distinct, becoming 4 ovoid 

 or oblong nutlets when ripe. 



T. orientalis. — A strong-growing hairy 

 perennial 3 ft. or more high, native of 

 Asia Minor, with an attractive and elegant 

 habit. The lower stalked leaves, which 

 appear after the flowers, are heart-shaped, 

 ovate acute, about 10 in. long, and 7 in. 

 across in the widest portion. The charm- 

 ing violet-blue flowers appear in early 

 spring, 70-80 in a. branched truss, the 

 coroUa-lobes being reflexed and twisted 

 at the tips, and the wliite stamens stand- 

 ing out in the centre in a cone-like tuft 

 more than \ in. long. 



Culture and Propagation. — This plant 

 is somewhat too ^^lgorous for the choice 

 flower border, but is well adapted for 

 furnishing wilder parts of the garden. 

 The roots spread a good deal, and send 

 up shoots all over the surrounding surface. 

 They should therefore be restricted if 

 necessary with a sharp spade. The plant 

 flourishes in ordinary soil, and is easily 

 increased by dividing the roots in autumn. 

 The flowers although beautiful are useless 

 for cutting, as they do not last long. 



