151. — Macr. Man. Brit. Bot. p. 14.— Irv. Loud. FI. p. IGi.—Cheiranthus inca- 
nus. Linn. Sp. PI. p. 924.— Engl. Bot. t. 1935.— Mill. Illust. t. 55.— Willd. 8p. PI. 
v. iii. pt. i. p. 520. — Leucojum incanum majus, Moris, y. ii. p. 240. sect. 3. t. 8. 
£ 1. — Leucojum purpureum, Johns. Ger. p. 458. — Viola matronalis purpu- 
rea \ Fuchs. Hist. p. 315. 
Localities. — On maritime cliffs in the south of England. — Hants; Cliffs 
between Steephill Cove and Ventnor Cove, Isle of Wight: N. B.G. On the 
chalk cliffs below Afton Down, east of Freshwater Gate. Isle of Wight, where 
it grows in great abundance, in places only accessible by a rope from above, 
truly wild, the cliff being the boundary on the sea side of the most solitary sheep- 
walks, without a human habitation, or even a spot of cultivation within three 
quarters of a mile: Dr. W. A. Bromhei.d. — Sussex; On the cliffs to the ea>t 
of Hastings, 1806: Dawson Turner, Esq. and W. Borrer, Esq — Now lost 
there: N. B.G-, 1835. 
Shrub. — Flowers from the end of April to August. 
Root somewhat woody ; simple at the crown, much branched 
below. Stem from 1 to 2 feet high, upright, bushy, round, leafy, 
hoary. Leaves scattered, from 2 to 6 inches long, covered on both 
sides with dense, starry, hoarv pubescence, single-ribbed, entire, 
thick and leathery ; rounded at the extremity ; each tapering at the 
base into a short petiole (leaf-slalk). Flowers corymbose, large 
and handsome, sweet-scented, of a light purple colour. Petals 
rounded and nearly entire, their claws (see fig. 3.) pale and green- 
ish. Pods (fig. 6.) from 2 inches to 3 inches and a half long, 
crowned with the sessile stigma subtended at each side by a small 
point. Valves strap-shaped, slightly keeled. Seeds numerous, 
almost circular, compressed, light brown, with a white membranous 
border. 
This beautiful plant is a native of most parts of the South of 
Europe near the sea ; it has been cultivated in our gardens for 
more than 200 years, but it was not known to be a native of Eng- 
land till it was found near Hastings by Messrs. Turner and Bor- 
rer, in 1806, as stated above. 
The principal varieties in cultivation are the single and double 
purple ; the single and double scarlet ; and the single and double 
white. 
I am indebted to Dr. W. Arnold Bromfield, of Ryde, in the 
Isle of Wight, for several wild specimens of this species gathered 
by him near Freshwater-Gate, as recorded above. The specimen 
figured, was kindly communicated to me by J. P. Norman, Esq. of 
Exeter Coll. Oxford, from the same locality in the Isle of Wight. 
For the best methods of cultivating the Garden varieties of this 
favourite plant, see Loudon’s Encyclopaedia of Gardening, (new 
edit., 1835.) p. 1050. parag. 5955. ; Don's General System of 
Gardening Sj Botany, v. i. p. 153.; and Martyn’s edition of 
Miller’s Gardener's and Botanist's Dictionary, under the Arti- 
cle Cheiranthus. And for a Historical account of it, see Phillips’ 
Flora Historica, 1st ed. v. ii. p. 24. ; 2nd ed. v. ii. p. 19. 
In the language of flowers, the Gillyflower, or Stock, is made 
the emblem of lasting beauty ; for, although it is less graceful than 
the Rose, and not so superb as the Lily, its splendour is more dura- 
ble, and its fragrance of longer continuance. 
