MITEAEIA 



GLOXINIA OBDEB 



PEIMULINA 729 



about 1 in. long, bell-shaped, yellow or 

 golden, somewhat 5-lobed. 



Culture Sc. as above. Moist soil in 

 sheltered sunny parts of the rockery. 



P. vallisnericefolia. — A native of the 

 Spanish mountains, with clusters of pale 

 yellowish-green, linear wavy leaves, some- 

 times almost transparent, and 4-6 in. 

 long. Flowers in summer, soft lilac or 

 purple, with distinctly whiter or paler 

 centres. 



Culture do. as above. Very damp 

 places in sheltered parts of the rockery. 



or on the edges of wet rooks, suit this 

 plant. 



P. vulgaris {Bog Violet ; Butter-root). 

 A pretty British and Irish species, with, 

 bluntly oblong fleshy leaves 1-3 in. long. 

 Flowers from May to July, violet, §-1 in. 

 long, with very unequal lips, and a slender 

 spur. Scapes several, 4-6 in. high, pur- 

 plish. 



Culture dc. as above. This species 

 flourishes in wet boggy places in sunny 

 parts of the rockery. 



LXXXIII. GESNERACEiE— Gloxinia Order 



A large order of herbs, shrubs, or rarely trees, very few of vfhich are suitable 

 for outdoor cultivation in the British Islands, although there are many 

 beautiful representatives grown in greenhouses and hothouses, such as 

 Gloxinia, Achimenes, Ncsgelia, Gesnera, Streptocarpus &o. Leaves usually 

 opposite or whorled, wrinkled, and without stipules. Flowers hermaphrodite, 

 irregular or rarely regular, showy, in racemes or panicles, rarely solitary, often 

 scarlet, violet, or blue, sometimes yellow, rarely white. Calyx often gamo- 

 sepalous, usually with 5 teeth or lobes. Corolla gamopetalous, tubular 

 inflated, rotate or broadly bell-shaped ; limb oblique or rarely nearly equally 

 spreading, often more or less 2-lipped, usually 5-lobed. Stamens i. or 2, often 

 with cohering anthers ; the fifth stamen rudimentary. Ovary inferior, half 

 superior, or superior, l-eelled. Fruit capsular or rarely fleshy. 



MITRARIA (Mitre Flowee). — A 

 genus with only one species : — 



M. coccinea. — A brilliant flowered 

 ChUian dwarf evergreen shrub, with climb- 

 ing stems, and opposite rather leathery 

 ovate acute, small leaves with a few teeth. 

 Flowers from May to July, bright scarlet, 

 about IJ in. long, solitary and axillary. 

 Calyx free, 4-5-parted. Corolla tube 

 elongated, inflated, with 5 nearly equal 

 rounded spreading lobes. Stamens 4, 

 protruding. Ovary superior. Fruit a 

 globose berry. 



Culture and Propagation. — This 

 pretty plant flourishes in a mixture of 

 sandy peat and loam, and may be con- 

 sidered almost hardy in favourable parts 

 of the country except in very severe 

 winters. It has been known to pass 

 uninjured through 15° of frost. It may 

 be increased by carefully dividing the 

 roots in spring. Cuttings of the tops of 

 the shoots may also be inserted in light 

 sandy soil under a handUght any time 

 during the spring and summer months. 



SARMIENTA repens is another 

 Chilian creeping shrub with small, fleshy, 

 opposite, entire or toothed leaves and 

 scarlet flowers, closely related to Mitraria, 

 but it is not so hardy, or at least is 

 usually grown in greenhouses. It might, 

 however, be tried out of doors in the 

 southern parts of England and Ireland in 

 moist, shady, and sheltered parts of the 

 rookery. It requires plenty of light and 

 water in summer, in peaty soU, but not 

 strong sunshine. 



PRIMULINA (Rock Tobacco).— A 



new genus containing only one species at 

 present known : — 



P. Tabacum (P. sinensis). — A distinct 

 and interesting hairy perennial 4-6 in. 

 high, native of N. China, with roundish 

 heart-shaped, shaUowly lobed leaves 3-4 

 in. across, and stalks about 8 in. long. 

 The violet-purple Primula-hke flowers, 

 about f in. across, are borne in summer 

 in loose corymbs, wild specimens having 

 as many as 12-20 on the hairy scape. 



