CULTURE OF THE (ENOTHERtE. 
87 
the annual species thrive and flower best in poor and gravelly soil, but they wil. 
grow rampant and strong in rich soil, though their flowers neither possess that 
degree of beauty, nor can the permanence of the colour be relied upon so much as 
when grown in poor land. Perhaps none show marks of degeneracy sooner than 
the (E. bifrons ; while the (E. sinuata and tetrapterci may be considered exceptions ; 
for they appear to flower better if grown in a light middling rich mould. The CE. 
viminea comes into flower about the end of April, if planted on dry situations, but 
its time of flowering is then shorter than when planted in a damper place. 
All the purple-flowering annual species, as (E. decumbens , quadtivulnera , 
purpurea, vimenia, Romanzovi , Lindleyana, tenuifoliq, &c., when cultivated in a 
patch, in a large garden-pot filled with poor soil, will flower in much greater 
perfection than in the open border ; yet their flowering season is of much shorter 
duration. They are perfectly simple in their culture, merely requiring to be sown 
in the border, or in the pot where they are intended to flower. In every other 
respect the treatment is like other hardy annuals. 
Biennial Species. — Those of biennial duration are all hardy, with the exception 
of CE. nociurna and villosa, which were introduced from the Cape of Good Hope, 
and consequently require the shelter of the green-house. The roots of (E. biennis 
are eaten in Germany and some parts of France. They have a nutty flavour, 
but are very inferior to the rampion. They are both stewed and eaten raw in 
salads, with mustard, oil, salt, and pepper, like celery. Lippold says they have been 
long . used as a culinary vegetable, under the name of German Rampion. It was 
from this species that the genus took the name of Evening Primrose, because its 
flowers seldom expand till towards six or seven o’clock in the evening. A few 
other species evince the same disposition, but the generality of them, including 
annuals, biennials, and perennials, are open all day, making, at the time of flowering, 
a beautiful show in the borders. The mode in which the flowers open is highly 
curious. The segments of the calyx first begin to separate at the bottom, and to 
expose the enclosed corolla; while at the top it is held tightly together by the hooks 
at the end of the calyx. In about a quarter of an hour the flower obtains sufficient 
strength to unhook the calyx at the top, which being accomplished, the expansion 
proceeds rapidly for about five minutes, when it again slackens, as though to recruit 
its strength previously to spreading-out quite flat. 
Perennial Species. — All these are hardy, except <E. rosea, acaulis, ccespitosa, 
and anisoloba, which require slightly sheltering. The first of these should be grown 
in peat and loam, in a pot which, during winter, should be sheltered in a frame, 
though it may be turned out in the borders after the frosts are over. The (E. 
acaulis is a native of Chili, where it is very common in waste places ; and according 
to Ruiz and Pavon, it is there administered in the form of infusion for medical 
purposes. It will grow well in common poor soil, and requires similar treatment to 
-he last. The (E. ccespitosa often perishes from too much moisture ; and to 
prevent this, all the damp soil should be removed from the roots on the approach of 
winter, — say, about the end of October; and there should be put in place of it a 
