4 6 



FLORA AND SYLVA, 



spots at the base of each petal, continued in 

 succession quitetothe end of summer, Levant; 

 recognitus, a. pretty low-growing species, later 

 to flower than most kinds, bearing medium- 

 sized blooms spotted with crimson at the base, 

 a cross between laurifolius and ?nonspeliensis ; 

 sahifolius, flowers white and stalks and leaves 

 hairy — of this there are several forms; taun'cus, 

 from the Crimea; vaginatus,%. hairy plant with 

 distinct foliage and early flowering, the flowers 

 in bunches of a rich rose-colour, Teneriffe ; 

 vi//osus,aho in many forms, foliage more or less 

 hoary and closely set forming a dense bush, 

 flowers crimson-purple in varying shades, a 

 widely - spread species. Helianthemums alys- 

 soides, formosum, and halimifolium are closely 

 allied plants, bearing fine golden flowers 

 with bold black markings ; they should be 

 grouped with the Cistus for their variety in 

 colour. B. 



THE PAMPAS GRASSES. 



Plant-names have to fall into line with all 

 things else in the law of mutation : still it is a 

 little confusing to find the old Gynerium trans- 

 formed into Cortaderia, however well founded 

 the botanical distinction may be. And here 

 comes in the value of such English names as 

 Pampas Grass, which are everywhere under- 

 stood and are permanent additions to our 

 tongue. The old group of Gynerium is divided 

 into two parts — that of Gynerium, containing 

 some eight species with which English gardens 

 have little to do ; and Cortaderia, a group of 

 some four or five kinds to which belong the 

 Pampas Grasses of southern gardens. The only 

 form of Gynerium with which English people 

 are familiar are the dried and coloured plumes 

 of G. sacc/iaroides, sold under the name of Uva 

 Grass. The plant itself is common over tropical 

 America as a tall Reed-like grass thriving be- 

 side water, and grown here as a stove aquatic. 

 It is a handsome plant with broad bold leaves 

 and plumes drooping to one side upon stems of 

 12 to 15 feet high, but it is little seen save in 

 botanical gardens. With it is also placed G. 

 arcuato-nebulosum, a plant bearing enormous 

 plumes of great beauty, but beyond these dried 

 flowers little is yet known of its character or 

 native country. With the Pampas Grasses our 

 gardens have long been familiar, the new name 

 being taken from a local Spanish phrase mean- 



ing "the plants that cut;" few who have 

 handled the plants will deny its aptness. The 

 various species are widely spread over the whole 

 of South America, and are very variable as to 

 form, height, and beauty, even within a small 

 area. Those given rank as species are C. ar- 

 gentea, or the common white Pampas Grass of 

 gardens, found beside watercourses over central 

 South America on the table-lands of the Cor- 

 dilleras ; C. araucana, found generally further 

 to the south, and described as a beautiful plant 

 with slender plumes shining with silvery lustre; 

 C. speciosa is a form prevailing in Chili and 

 Bolivia ; C. rudiuscula from Chili eastward to 

 the Argentine Republic — this a dwarf form of 

 neat compact habit, with slender plumes ; and 

 C. Qui la or jubatum, the Rosy Pampas Grass of 

 gardens, for the coloured formsarenow all held 

 to belong to this most variable species. 



In English gardens, however, the only 

 kinds met with are C. argentea and jubatum, 

 both of which exist in a number of seedling 

 forms with a wide range of habit, height, and 

 beauty of spike. Though found growing at a 

 considerable height in their native mountains, 

 the Pampas Grass is not thoroughly hardy in 

 England, being injured or dying outright in 

 many districts duringsevere winters, and hence 

 it is, perhaps, less used than was once the case 

 in gardens, though along the southern coasts 

 fine tufts are common enough, and in the south- 

 west it attains full beauty. It is one of those 

 plants whose appearance is almost suggestive 

 of the waterside, and in mild districts it does 

 well enough beside water, where it revels in 

 the moisture during summer ; in many cases, 

 however, these spots are the worst for it in win- 

 ter, and without protection it often comes to 

 harm. Where a trickle of water can be found 

 for it the plant is far better upon a sheltered 

 hillside, and is thus often seen to great advan- 

 tage and is far safer from frost. Around many 

 of the towns of the Riviera it has established 

 itself as a wild plant just in this way, creeping 

 down the sides of such tiny streamlets as trickle 

 from the hills, and making fine tufts in the 

 shelter of the woods. Once in the plain it would 

 have no chance beside the giant Reeds (Arundo) 

 of the country. A fairly moist spot in deep 

 soil, with full sunlight and shelter from rough 

 winds is what best suits the Pampas Grass ; it 

 planted beside water and in valleys, the plant 



