286 



FlVE-LEAFLETED TrOP^OLUM (T. pentd- 



phyllum). — A pretty plant used with fine effect 

 in gardens during summer either tocoverwalls 

 or ramble over shrubs in asheltered corner. As 

 in dipetalum the flowers consist of two petals 

 only, which are small and red, and borne upon 

 a long trumpet-shaped tube or spur, sharply 

 hooked near the base, and its deep purplish- 

 red colour finely contrasted with vivid green 

 in the calyx lobes. It grows freely, flowering 

 in June and July, and may be used cut in long 

 trails with the prettiest effect, the deeply-cut 

 leaves being graceful and the stems a fine rosy 

 colour. It thrives in light rich soil upon asunny 

 border, or even facing east if well sheltered. 

 The rounded tubers are easily lifted and stored 

 in the autumn when the plant is cut down by 

 frost. One of the easiest to grow, increasing 

 fast in good ground and readily known from 

 other kinds. A native ofUruguay, growing in 

 rich profusion round BuenosAyres,and, though 

 an old plant in English gardens, not at all 

 common. 



The Grey Rock Trop^olum (T. poly- 

 phylluni) shown in our engraving is one of the 

 best of hardy tuberous plants. It has a wide 

 range in the Andes of South America, thriving 

 at a height of many thousand feet as far south 

 as Chili, and quite the hardiest and most vigor- 

 ous of the group. It varies much as to habit and 



GREY ROCK TROP^OLUM, 



form of leaf in different parts of this immense 

 range, but is commonest ; in gardens, as a low 

 trailing plant of compact habit and stout fleshy 

 stems thickly clothed with finely-cut grey 

 foliage, and many golden flowers in June. 



Once well established in a bank of good soil it 

 flowers freely, spreading fast by long under- 

 ground stems which force their way through 

 the hardest soil. When in full sun its shoots 



J are rich in colour, running about 2 feet before 

 flowering, but they lengthen when grown 

 among shrubs; cut trails are useful and very 

 pretty for decoration. The tuber is of a peculiar 



I oblong shape and dark red in colour. Hang- 

 ing from a niche in the rock garden, or trail- 

 ing from a low wall or sunny bank, its finely- 



\ coloured leaves and flowers are very handsome, 

 and when well planted it needs no further 

 care. 



The Sessile-leaved Trop^olum (T. sessi- 

 li 'folium). — This kind is near akin to the last, 

 if, indeed, it is not a form of it. It is also of 

 prostrate habit but very compact in growth, 



j its shoots not exceeding 8 inches, with much 

 smaller leaves, which are thickly set and almost 



' stemless ; its red and yellow flowers of medium 

 size are carried freely upon short stems when 

 planted in a sunny spot and good light soil. 



Smith's Trop^olum ( T. Smithi) . — A beau- 

 tiful plant widely dispersed and growing at a 

 great elevation in the Andes of north-western 

 South America. It is a twiner of free, robust 

 habit, bearing smooth glossy leaves deeply cut 

 into five broad lobes, about 3 inches wide in 

 all and carried upon long stalks. The flowers 

 are large and funnel-shaped, ending in a long 

 green-tipped spur ; the calyx is rich ruby red 

 with finely fringed and lobed petals of orange 

 veined with bright red. A very handsome 

 plant flowering in June and July, which may 

 be treated as a greenhouse perennial or a hardy 

 annual during summer. 



The Flame-floweredTrop^eolum ( T. spe- 

 ciosum).- — The most brilliant of Tropaeolums, 

 yet quite free from the gaudiness of the annual 

 kinds. It grows in the southern provinces of 

 Chili, and is one of the kinds difficult to estab- 

 lish in some gardens. In its native country it 

 sends up a maze of slender twining shoots 

 which completely cover shrubs and low trees 

 of 1 5 and 20 feet and are aflame with flower. 

 The bright scarlet flowers appear from June 

 throughout the summer,borne upon long stalks 

 overtopping the leaves, and hanging in rich 

 festoons from the upper part of the shoots so 

 thickwith colour as to hide the foliage. Though 

 quite hardy it is not easy to grow in all places, 



