726 



THE WILD POPPY OF CALIFORNIA. 



finest novelties of this season are named below, every 

 kind having some distinctive merit. Unfortunately the 

 names are of inordinate length. There is a great deal 

 in a simple name, and the rule should be to mak^ the 

 names of plants as short and sweet as possible. M. C. 

 Ministre Develle is a remarkably distinct variety, which 

 is a noteworthy point, as many of the so-called new sorts 

 bear much resemblance to each other. It belongs to the 

 Japanese class. Its flowers are creamy white, the petals 

 tipped with carmine ; the plant does not grow more than 

 four feet in height. A delightful sort for cutting is 

 Madame Marie Robert, which bears a profusion of small 

 pure white flowers of Japanese character. Also worthy 

 of remark are Madame Rene Chandon de Briailles, a 

 rose-colored Japanese variety, with petals long and droop- 

 ing ; M. Gayon, blood-red — a deep, unusual color ; M. J 

 Graff, rosy lilac, the reverse of the florets silvery ; Mad- 

 ame Gabrielle Fontaine, salmon shaded with yellow, 

 large and somewhat reflexed, of the Japanese class ; 

 Andre Faillieres, a Japanese of splendid color, intense 

 and distinct. The subjoined also belong to the Japanese 

 section : Madame Marie Comtains, flowers very large, 

 the petals ribbon-like in character and of great length, 

 while in color they are soft primrose ; M. Paul Lemoine, 

 flowers not unlike those of Criterion, and rich buff 

 shaded with yellow ; Madame Raone Chandon de Bria- 

 illes, creamy white, the petals arranged in whorls ; Gloire 

 de Mejin, deep bronze shaded with red, the reverse of 

 the florets buff color ; M. Massicault, magenta ; Madame 

 Bigare, rose-lake ; and Madame Alexandrie de Bermont, 



terra-cotta. A charming pompon variety is Mdlle. Eu- 

 gene Klien, flowers creamy white, beautifully fimbriated 

 and of excellent shape. It will not be long before the 

 early or October-flowering varieties rival those of Novem- 

 ber — the great month of the year for the autumn queen. 



The yellow arum lily or calla is one of the recent 

 sensations in the list of novelties. C. PentlaJidi is a 

 form of the well-known C. yEthio;p{ca, but there is a 

 great difference between the two, the new acquisition 

 having spathes of a pure golden yellow color, clearer and 

 larger than those of C. Elliotlianum, which is allied to 

 C. hastata, as shown by the white-spotted leafage. Calla 

 Peiillandi has an interesting history. It is most prob- 

 ably, like the type, a native of South Africa, but we are 

 not told the district from whence it came. Some tubers 

 were given by a friend to Mr. Whyte, of Pentland 

 House, Lee, England, about two years ago, and it was 

 remarked that possibly one would bear a yellow and an- 

 other a rose-colored spathe. When the yellow-spathed 

 form flowered, it was shown at a meeting of the Royal 

 Horticultural Society, and at once given a first-class cer- 

 tificate. We look forward with interest to the flowering 

 of the other tubers. It is reasonable to expect a rose- 

 colored form, as conjectures were correct in regard to C. 

 Pentlandi. No small flutter of excitement will be cre- 

 ated by an arum lily with a rose-colored spathe ; it is 

 something to devoutly wish for. C. Peiilla7idi seems to 

 be as vigorous and easily grown as the white . species so 

 familiar to us all. 



Chisivick, England. Ernest T. Cook. 



THE WHITE POPPY OF CALIFORNIA 



A WILD FLOWER 



IVE as deeply as you will into the 

 bewildering flora of the Pacific 

 slope, you can find no flower 

 that eclipses Romneya Coid- 

 tevi. This white poppy is the 

 finest of California's wild flow- 

 ers. It is not a new flower, but 

 was re-discovered, as it were, 

 when California became a state. 

 Komneya Coulter i is well known in southernmost Europe 

 and in Asia, and has always been considered a choice 

 wild flower. It is a large perennial poppy, with snowy 

 white petals, lightened in the center by a tuft of golden 

 stamens. In the famous gardens of Kew, London, it is 

 deemed one of the choicest and rarest border-flowers. 



The genus was named Romneya in honor of T. Rom- 

 ney Robinson, a noted astronomer of Armagh. It is a 

 shrub from 5 to 15 feet in height, half woody at the base. 

 It does not die down entirely, but needs to be pruned 

 back well in the fall. In early spring vigorous shoots 

 start from the dormant roots, and grow from 6 to 10 feet 

 high. The large, hairy flower-buds open at daylight, 

 the crimped petals slowly unfolding from over the huge 

 bunch of stamens (as large as a walnut), until they meas- 



I'ORTH CULTIVATING. 



ure from 6 to 9 inches across They last several days, 

 the buds opening well in water. There is a delightful 

 harmony between the Romneya's much-divided glaucous 

 foliage and the waxen white flowers, which make it so 

 much admired as a decorative plant. 



From Santa Barbara county southward, the Romneya 

 is indigenous. It is found in San Bernardina and San 

 Diego counties, and below the Mexican bounderies nearly 

 to San Quentin Bay, in Lower California. In San Diego 

 county and in Lower California this beautiful white 

 poppy is seen at its best. It is found growing along the 

 borders of streams in rich and fertile portions of valleys, 

 on dry mountain or hillsides and in sheltered canons on 

 the warmest, dryest and most unapproachable slopes, 

 but is mainly confined to the foothills and valleys near 

 the coast. It is easily domesticated as far north as San 

 Francisco, and even at this altitude is quite a hardy 

 shrub, requiring only a sheltered position to protect the 

 flowers. 



A rich, sandy loam suits the shrub best. The species 

 may be increased by seeds sown in spring, but only the 

 most careful and painstaking growers are usually suc- 

 cessful with this method. The seeds do not germinate 

 till from four to eight months after planting. With care. 



