292 The Arctotis. 



ARCTOTIS— THE ARCTOTIS. 



Natural Order, Compositas ; Linnsean System, Syngenesia, Necessaria, 

 Generic Character : Flowers radiate ; receptacle honey-combed, bristly 

 seeds doubly furrowed ou the back ; pappus chaffy ^ involucre imbricate ; 

 scales rough at the margin. 



A. tricolor. Stemless ; leaves lyrate, spreading, upper surface slightly hairy, 

 lower tomentose ; scales of the involucre linear, sometimes club-shaped, 

 downy, mucronate. — PI. 41. 



The plants which compose this genus are all natives of the 

 Cape of Good Hope. There are more than twenty species, 

 several of which are in much estimation for their beauty. 

 Nearly all the species, indeed, are remarkable for the size and 

 beauty of their flowers, which are often tinged with a reddish 

 orange color, which forms a fine contrast with green. The 

 following directions apply to the cultivation of all the species: 

 " In situations where it is not convenient to protect the plant 

 during the winter, cuttings should be made in the summer, 

 which will strike root easily if planted in a border of light 

 earth, and which may be potted in autumn, in order that they 

 may be protected in a frame during the winter, till they can 

 be planted out in spring ; or the cuttings may be struck at once 

 in pots early in autumn, and protected in winter for planting 

 out in spring. Plants of this genus do much better with this 

 treatment in the open ground than they do in green-houses, as 

 in the latter situation, old plants are very apt to become 

 mouldy, and the leaves to decay. In the open ground, on the 

 contrary, the plants grow freely, and produce abundance of 

 handsome leaves and flowers of good size and brilliant color* 

 They should all be grown in dry light soil, and supplied with 

 abundance of water during the growing season." 



The three-colored Arctotis is a dwarf species, and its flowers 

 are among the largest and most beautiful of all. The upper 

 side of the ray florets is white, and the lower dark purple, 

 while the disk is of a shining deep brown. The flower stems 

 are about a foot high. It is easily propagated by suckers 



