The Cineraria, 129 



CINERARIA— THE CINERARIA. 



Natural Order, Composite. Linnsean Class and Order, Syngenesis, Super- 

 flua. Generic Distinctions : — Receptacle, naked ; pappus, simple. In- 

 volucre, simple, many leaved, equal. 



C lanata. Peduncles, one-headed ; leaves, cordate, roundish, with seven 

 angles, woolly beneath.-— Plate 19. 



This genus of well known ornamental flowers, is said to 

 take its name from the Latin, cineres, ashes, in reference to the 

 soft white down which clothes the lower, and often the upper 

 surface of the leaves. The species are distributed over many 

 parts of the world, but principally come from southern coun- 

 tries. Many of them are in great favor among those who ad- 

 mire and cultivate flowers, as well on account of their beauty, 

 as the ease with which they are cultivated, and their capability 

 of enduring the confined air of sitting rooms. By crossing 

 one species with another, florists have succeeded in producing 

 many splendid and graceful varieties. They bloom at all sea- 

 sons, from January to December, according to the circumstan- 

 ces in which they are placed. All the species are herbace- 

 ous, or half shrubby plants, with perennial roots ; the leaves 

 are alternate, the flowers grow in a corymb, or panicle, and 

 are often yellow, sometimes purple, white or blue, in the culti- 

 vated kinds. Although they are familiar to every one who 

 has paid the least attention to floriculture, the following direc- 

 tions for the cultivation of the Cineraria may-fiot be superflu- 

 ous. The modes of cultivation are either by the seed, in which 

 way many beautiful varieties are obtained, by cuttings, or by 

 division of the roots. If the seeds are sown in the spring, the 

 proper way is to fill shallow pans with a light sandy soil, and 

 scatter the seed regularly over the surface, then cover them 

 with a similar soil, supply them with a gentle heat and frequent 

 waterings, until the young plants appear. As scon as they 

 have put forth two or three pair of leaves, they should be 

 transplanted singly into pots filled with peat-earth mixed with 

 a small portion of garden mould, or almost any light soil will 



answer. If they can be kept in a green house the seed may 

 9. 



