340 



FLORA AND SYLVA. 



between them; the roots of the Andro- 

 sace delight in the layer of moist earth 

 just under stones. Most kinds thrive in 

 full sun, the best aspects being south and 

 west, never north. Some kinds do well 

 in pots and are pretty so for a cool house 

 in spring, and afterwards plunged to the 

 rim in moist sand, cocoa-fibre, or some 

 similarly cool material. While a few 

 kinds may be raised from runners and 

 cuttings, and some others from division, 

 many sorts can only be grown from seed 

 sown in sandy peat as soon as ripe, and 

 this way should be followed in the hope 

 of good varieties. Over forty species of 

 Androsace are known and others may 

 be found when the mountains of Thibet 

 and Western China are fully explored. 

 Twenty kinds are found in the Alps, 

 someextendingeastward by way of Aus- 

 tria, or southward to the Pyrenees,where 

 four others occur peculiar to that coun- 

 try. One little gem is found only upon 

 the rocky heights above Lake Como; 

 others are traced through Spain into 

 North Africa, though not confined to 

 either of those regions. Four species are 

 known among the mountains of the 

 Caucasus and four again in Northern 

 Asia, one kind extending through the 

 arctic regions into North America. A 

 large and distinct group belongs to the 

 Himalayas and reaches thence to China ; 

 of these about thirty kinds have been 

 described, of which a few have reached 

 our gardens, but the larger number are 

 not in cultivation. A few of the Euro- 

 pean species, such as A. vi//osa,a.re also 

 found in the Himalayas, but they dif- 

 fer from the more compact and tufted 

 western forms. One kind lately intro- 



duced is said to come from the extreme 

 of South America, and is interesting as 

 being the first from that region. The 

 Androsaces may be divided into two 

 groups ; one including such easily grown 

 kinds as A. lanuginosa and sarmentosa, 

 which grow in open soil with other 

 plants upon the mountain side ; and a 

 second groupforming stemless tufts and 

 found only in rocky clefts. Those of the 

 first group will often thrive in level bor- 

 ders of free soil, and root from cuttings, 

 or division; the mossy kinds are happy 

 only upon the rocks and are raised solely 

 from seed. The following list gives the 

 best kinds in cultivation and ofvaluefor 

 the choicer parts of the rock-garden: — 



Androsace Albana. — One of the mossy 

 kinds, forming small rosettes of deeply-toothed 

 ovalleavesand dense heads of pale pink flowers 

 I from April to July. A plant newly introduced 

 from the Caucasus and still rare in gardens. 



A. alpina. — A gem in the rock-garden but 

 not easily grown. Its tiny tongue-shaped leaves 

 are in crowded rosettes, forming cushions of 

 2 or 3 inches high covered in June with flowers 

 — one from each rosette — rosy-purple with a 

 yellow centre. It needs peat soil, moisture at 

 the root, and a rather shaded spot ; its leaves 

 should be kept dry by planting in a wall or be- 

 tween upright stones. Syn. A. ciliata. 



A.arachnoidea. — Though classed as a spe- 

 cies in the Kew list many authors regard this 

 as a local form of A. villosa, from which it 

 differs in its denser hairiness. Mountains of 

 the Delia Torre in Eastern Europe. 



A. brigantiaca. — A pretty plant thriving 

 only in sandy or granite soils and upon slopes 

 shaded from strong sun. It comes very near A. 

 carnea, but with leaves of deeper green, and 

 pure white flowers. 



A. carnea. — One of the best kinds, early in 

 flower, free, and easily grown in light soils 

 without lime; beingless dense and woolly than 

 many sorts it is not so apt to " damp off" in 

 winter. It does not form rosettes but little 

 spreading shoots covered with narrowpointed 



