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PB ACTIO AL GUIDE TO GABBEN PLANTS bbythbonium 



shrubberies, planted in grass, and for 

 naturalising generally in woodlands. 



Culture and Propagation. — They 

 succeed in any good light garden soil, but 

 prefer moist light sandy loam, with the 

 addition of a little peat and leaf soil. 

 They usually bloom in spring ; and after 

 the leaves have withered require a period 

 of rest. If the soil is well drained little 

 harm will come to them during the 

 winter months. "Where they are to remain 

 in the soil for several years, an annual 

 top-dressing of manure or fresh soil will 

 do them much good and stimulate the 

 developmeiit of vigorous foliage and large 

 flowers. 



New plants are obtained by separating 

 the offsets from the old corms or from 

 the creeping rootstocks, as the case may 

 be. The best time for disturbing the 

 plants is after the foliage has withered. 

 The corms may be planted about 3-4 in. 

 deep, and to obtain good effects several 

 should be placed so as to form a large 

 mass when in bloom. 



Besides outdoor cultivation Dog's 

 Tooth Violets are also excellent subjects 

 for growing in pots. Indeed rare species 

 are probably best grown in this way in 

 cold frames or cold well-aired green- 

 houses until the stock is numerous. 



The following species are at present 

 known. The descriptions, with certain 

 additions and emendations, are the same 

 as those I contributed in an article to the 

 ' Gardeners' Chronicle,' September 26, 

 1896, p. 361, with a drawing of E. Hart- 

 tvegi. They are based mainly upon the 

 late Sereno Watson's revision of the 

 genus in the ' Proceedings of the Ameri- 

 can Academy of Arts and Sciences,' and 

 through the kindness of Messrs. Wallace 

 & Co. of Colchester, I have been able to 

 see many of them in flower. 



E. albidum. — A native of the wet 

 pastures of New York, Pennsylvania &c., 

 with ovoid stolon-bearing corms, and 

 oblong lance-shaped usually slightly 

 mottled leaves. The flowers appear in 

 April and May, one on a stalk, and are 

 of a white or bluish-white colour tinged 

 with yellow at the base, the lance-shaped 

 segments 1-1^ in. long being strongly 

 reflexed, and not all auricled at the 

 base. E. bracteatum is considered to be 

 a closely related form. It has somewhat 

 larger leaves, and differs, moreover, in 

 having yellow flowers. It also inhabits 



the mountain regions instead of the pas- 

 tures. The variety coloratum has deeper 

 coloured flowers than the tjrpe. 

 Culture do. as above. 



E. americanum. — This species grows 

 in the damp open woodland of the 

 Eastern United States and Canada. It 

 has ovoid stolon-bearing corms like E. 

 albidum, and larger leaves mottled with 

 greenish-purple. The solitary flowers 

 appear in April and May, and are of a 

 bright golden-yellow often tinged with 

 purple, and finely dotted within at the 

 base. Sometimes called ' TeUow Adder's 

 Tongue.' 



Culture dtc. as above. 



E. citrinum. • — A native of the Deer 

 Creek Mountains in S. Oregon, usually 

 bearing 3 lemon-yellow flowers on a 

 stalk, the broadly lance-shaped segments 

 about 1 in. long being strongly recurved* 

 orange at the base, and sometimes suffused 

 with pink at the tips. 



Culture Sc. as above. 



E. Dens-Canis. — This is the Common 

 Dog's Tooth Violet, found vnld chiefly in 

 Central and S. Europe, although forms of 

 it extend across Asia to Japan. It has 

 ovoid cylindrical corms resembling a 

 dog's tooth, and ovate or oblong lance- 

 shaped glaucous-green leaves marbled 

 with dull purple. The peduncle 4-6 in. 

 high bears a solitary flower of a beautiful 

 rose or violet-purple (rarely white), with 

 brown dots at the base of the recurved 

 segments. Besides the rare white form, 

 there are others called purpureum, 

 roseum, and violaceum, according to the 

 shades of colour. The Siberian form, 

 sibiricum, has purple flowers, and is 

 a more vigorous plant than the type, 

 while the Japanese form, japonicum, has 

 violet-purple flowers. 

 Culture dc. as above. 

 E, giganteum. — This has been con- 

 fused with grandiflorum, and has been 

 called gramoUflorum and giganteum albi- 

 florum, also maximum and speciosiun. 

 It is found at an elevation of 6000 to 

 10,000 ft. in California, and is one of the 

 finest and most showy species. The 

 leaves are mottled with dull purple, and 

 the large creamy white flowers 3 in. 

 across are suffused with orange or yellow 

 at the base, and from 1 to 6 are borne on 

 a taU scape. 



Culture dc. as above. 



