312 



THE SAXIFRAGE FAMILY. 



12. London-pride Saxifrage. Saxifraga umbrosa, Linn. 

 (Fig. 383.) 



(Eng. Bot. t. 663, and Suppl. 2891. London Pride. 

 Cabbage. None-so-pretty.) 



St. Patrick's 



Perennial stock shortly branched, 

 crowned by the spreading leaves, form- 

 ing dense tufts, which in our gardens 

 will attain near a foot in diameter. Leaves 

 rather thick and leathery, usually gla- 

 brous, obovate, an inch or more in length, 

 bordered with cartilaginous crenatures 

 or coarse teeth, and narrowed at the 

 base into a short, more or less flattened 

 stalk, ciliate at the edges. Stems erect, 

 leafless, 6 inches to a foot high. Mowers 

 small, pink, elegantly spotted with a 

 darker colour, in a loose, slender panicle. 

 Calyx free, with short segments closely 

 reflected on the pedicel. Petals much 

 longer, ovate or oblong, and spreading. 



In shady places, in Portugal, western 

 Spain, and the higher Pyrenees, and re- 

 appearing in south-western Ireland. 

 Cultivated from an early period in our gardens, it appears to have 

 established itself in some localities in northern England and south- 

 western Scotland. PL early summer. 



Fig. 383. 



13. Kidney Saxifrage. Saxifraga Geum, Linn. (Fig. 384.) 

 (Eng. Bot. t. 1561, and Suppl. t. 2893.) 



Closely allied to the London-pride S. in its habit and flowers, this 

 species only differs in its leaves, which are orbicular, usually notched 

 or cordate at the base, with long stalks, less flattened than in the last 

 species, and usually very hairy ; the leaves themselves also have often 

 a few scattered hairs on both surfaces. 



The geographical range is the same as that of the London-pride S., 

 but it appears generally to prefer lower altitudes. PL early summer. 

 Specimens in some measure intermediate between this and the last 

 species, with the leaves orbicular or nearly so, but not cordate, and the 



