84 
a fine form bearing large bell-shaped flowers 
of ivory-white, but this is rare. 
M. pankulata. — A beautiful Himalayan 
plant with much-cut foliage and panicles of 
bright yellow flowers, which come true from 
the seed ripened sparingly in fine seasons. 
M.priricipis. — A plant first found by Franchet 
in Thibet ; it comes near M. punicea but is not 
so large a plant, and its smaller crimson flowers 
are held erect instead of nodding. 
M. puniceci. — A fine kind newly introduced 
through Messrs Veitch's collector in China, 
and flowered in their nursery during September 
of last year. It comes near integrifolia^ and is 
found growing with it at a great height in 
the mountains of Thibet. The leaves are entire, 
tapering at both ends, and covered with long 
coarse hairs of a shining yellow colour. The 
massive flowers are borne singly upon slender 
stems of to 2 feet, reaching at their best 6 
inches wide, and composed of large drooping 
petals of carmine-red or reddish-purple. Even 
the wild flowers show a tendency to become 
double, which will doubtless increase under 
cultivation. Theplantsgrowin moistmeadows 
among grass and low shrubs, which shield from 
direct sunlight. 
M. quintiiplinervia. — A perennial kind from 
Manchuria and N. W. China, of dwarf growth 
as a rosette of long-stemmed uncut leaves, 
covered with reddish hairs and traversed by five 
prominent veins, to which the plant owes its 
name. The nodding flowers come during sum- 
mer upon hairy stems of 6 to 1 2 inches, and are 
cup-shaped, inches wide, and pale violet or 
purple with a large cluster of golden stamens. 
M. racemosa. — A rare plant but lately intro- 
duced to this country. Its flowers range in 
colour from pale lilac to deep purple, and have 
given good seed in the past autumn. China. 
M. smplicifolia. — A plant beautiful in leaf 
and flower. The leaves are 4 to 6 inches long, 
lance-shaped, quite entire or slightly cut, and 
thickly covered with short, brown hairs. The 
flowers come in early June upon unbranched 
stems of 1^ to 3 feet, bearing at the summit 
one large half-drooping flower, 3 inches across, 
of deep rich blue petals, shaded towards the 
edges with rosy-purple, and guarding a crown 
of golden stamens. Though few in number, 
these flowers are more lasting than in other 
! kinds. The plant is a hardy biennial, dying 
I to the ground in winter, and doing best in 
\ moist, gritty soil and partial shade. 
M. Wallichi. — The best of the group, beauti- 
ful at all seasons, and hardy, though the plants 
sometimes perish in times of heavy snow from 
the damp soaking into the crushed leaves. The 
; leaf-tufts are fully as handsome as in nepalensis, 
larger, and deeply cut, forming rosettes of grey- 
! green, 2 to 3 feet across, and covered with soft 
orange or reddish-brown hairs. The leafy stems 
appear during the summer and are 3 to 7 feet 
I high, rising in a stately pyramid covered with 
j buds, which begin to open from the top, down- 
I wards. The flowers are 3 inches across and 
\ bright pale blue in the best forms, with a 
[ central cluster of yellow stamens and the petals 
prettily drooping. Though the individual 
flowers are short-lived they are renewed so 
freely each day as to last more than a month 
in beauty, bearing buds upon side-shoots all 
down the stem for fully two-thirds of its length. 
The plants die after flowering, and though early 
flowers yield seed, a large proportion of the 
seedlings often turn out as shades of dingy 
purple and brown, and these forms, known 
2l'S, purpurea 2tX\^ fusco-purpurea^ are disappoint- 
i ing. Even in imported seed these bad colours 
\, are present, but their proportion is larger in 
home saved seeds. The seed may be sown when 
j ripe in a cool shaded frame, or in March in 
I a little heat, and the strongest plants will 
floweraboutAugustof the second year; though 
many do not bloom until the third or fourth 
season, their foliage is so handsome that this 
is no loss. They do best in well-drained peaty 
soil, sheltered from wind, and shaded from hot 
sun. In the open they are apt to flag and lose 
colour on warm days, whereas the half-light 
even of twilight, shows the delicate flowers to 
fine effect. At Kew and other places this kind 
is well grown in the light shade of Bamboos, 
and if not too near the hungry roots, this is a 
good place. Mountains of Sikkim, at elevations 
of 1 2,000 to 14,000 feet. 
Though twoor three other speciesare known 
tobotanists,theyarenotin cultivation. Among 
these is M. superba, a noble plant from the 
Chinese frontier ; and M. ro/^z/x/^z of the central 
j Himalayas, a plant of 4 to 6 feet high, covered 
j with very long soft hairs. B. 
