AMAEANTUS 



COCKSCOMB OBDEB 



ALTEENANTHBEA 763 



Like the Cockscombs they like plenty of 

 water in summer, and are benefited by 

 an occasional dose of liquid manure. 



A. caudatus {Love Lies Bleeding). — 

 A vigorous and ornamental Indian annual 

 2-3 ft. high, with bright green oval 

 obtuse leaves borne on angular striped 

 stems. The minute deep crimson-purple 

 flowers appear in summer, and are borne 

 in dense clusters arranged in gracefully 

 drooping cylindrical spikes. There is a 

 variety with yellow flowers which is not 

 considered so attractive as the type. 



Culture dc. as above. 



A. hypochondriacus {A. cruentus). — 

 Prince's Feather. — A beautiful Indian 

 annual 4-5 ft. high, remarkable for its 

 deeply veined ovate lance-shaped leaves, 

 which are of a purple colour on the under 

 surface. The deep crimson flowers are 

 densely packed on erect pyramidal spikes 

 at the ends of the shoots, and look very 

 handsome, especially in the improved 

 form known as atropurpureus. 



Culture &c. as above. 



A. salicifolius. — A beautiful annual 

 2-3 ft. high, native of the Philippine 

 Islands. The gracefully drooping wavy 

 Willow-like leaves, 7-15 in. long, are 

 beautifully coloured near the tips with 

 orange, crimson, and bronzy-purple, and 

 are decidedly attractive, forming the chief 

 beauty of the plant, especially in the fine 

 variety called Princess of Wales. 



A. Henderi is a garden form closely 

 related to A. salicifolius. It is pyramidal 

 in habit, and has lance-shaped wavy 

 leaves, variously tinted with rosy-carmine, 

 orange, yellow, and green. 



Culture dc. as above. 



A. sanguineus. — Another Bast Indian 

 annual 2-3 ft. high, remarkable for its 

 oval, stalked, blood-red leaves, and loose 

 spikes and clusters of purple flowers. 



Culture dc. as above. Towards the 

 end of summer and during the autumn 

 this species is seen at its best, the foliage 

 then being of a brilliant hue. It is a good 

 plant for massing on grass as well as in 

 beds and borders. 



A. speciosus. — An elegant Indian 

 annual 3-5 ft. high, with strong fleshy 

 and slightly branched stems, slightly 

 angled and reddish in colour. The leaves 

 are long-stalked, oval lance-shaped, blunt, 

 and more or less deeply tinged or washed 



with red. The deep crimson-purple 

 flowers are borne in large erect spikes, 

 the whole forming a beautiful plume-like 

 panicle. There is a form with golden- 

 yellow plumes. 



Culture dc. as above. 



A. tricolor. — A beautiful Indian annual 

 2-3 ft. high with thickish fiirrowed stems, 

 and oval or oblong lance-shaped tapering 

 leaves, remarkable for their beautiful 

 reddish-purple or carmine colom:ing from 

 the base to the middle, followed by a 

 broad yellow zone and ending in a green 

 point. The somewhat winged stalk is 

 green or yellow, and the older leaves are 

 usually not so highly coloured as the 

 young ones. Closely related to this is a 

 well-known form called A. melancholicus 

 ruber, a compact-growing plant about 

 1 ft. high, with large crimson-coloured 

 leaves. It is useful on this account for 

 massing in beds and borders. 



Culture dc. as above. A. tricolor 

 and its forms seem to be a little more 

 tender than the others, and should there- 

 fore be planted in warm and sheltered 

 spots. 



ALTERNANTHERA (Joy Weed). 

 A genus of trailing or decumbent, rarely 

 erect, branched, smooth, downy or woolly 

 herbs. Leaves opposite, with or without 

 stalks, obovate oblong or linear, entire or 

 slightly toothed. Flowers small, herma- 

 phrodite, borne in small heads. Perianth 

 5-parted. 



Culture and Propagation. — Alternan- 

 theras were at one time much more 

 extensively employed for making carpet- 

 beds and edgings than they are now. 

 Being natives of the tropics and sub- 

 tropics they are too tender for the out- 

 door garden except during the warmest 

 period of the year. They are chiefly 

 valuable for the rich colouring of the 

 foliage, which varies from yellow and 

 bronze to deep purple and crimson. It is 

 only by using them in very large masses 

 that any appreciable effect can be obtained, 

 so that the work of propagation is rather 

 heavy where quantities are required. 

 The plants are usually increased by 

 means of cuttmgs taken about April from 

 old plants that have been lifted in autumn 

 and grown in the warm greenhouse 

 during winter. It is essential, to secure 

 good and quick results, to root the cuttings 

 in a hotbed or frame with a temperature 



