268 
THE DROSERA, OR SUNDEW. 
Saxifraga geranioides belongs to the for- 
mer of these groups. It is a small tufted 
plant, having stiff reddish suckers, a red stem, 
growing six inches high, covered with glandu- 
liferous hairs, and bearing a compact branch- 
ing panicle of white blossoms ; the leaves are 
on footstalks, reniform in outline, with from 
three to five lobes, the segments wedge-shaped, 
and deeply toothed ; they are pubescent. The 
flowers consist of five oblong flat petals, of a 
white colour, arranged in something like a 
bell-shaped figure ; the filaments are yellow- 
ish ; the little stalks which support them, and 
the calices, are covered with clammy down ; 
they are produced in profusion during the 
months of April and May. This plant is a 
native of the Pyrenees, and was introduced to 
our gardens in 1770. It is the same as the S. 
paniculata (Schleicher), and the S. quinque- 
fida (Lamarck). 
A variety which bears the name of ob- 
tusiloba, differs in having its leaves some- 
what less toothed, and in being altogether 
less hairy ; its flowers also are borne some- 
what in an umbellate manner. This is a 
native of Switzerland, and is the same as 
the S. geranioides (Schleicher). Both are 
hardy perennials. 
These saxifrages require no protection, 
and are among the best plants for furnishing 
a rockery ; they are also very suitable for 
planting as edgings to walks, especially in 
shrubberies, and in cool, somewhat shaded, 
situations. They grow freely in any common 
garden soil, and should be planted early in 
autumn or in spring ; in the former case they 
get well established before severe weather 
sets in. Spring planting, however, is perhaps 
the most certain, although unless very strong 
plants are used, and they are well watered, 
should the weather prove dry, they will not 
bloom well the first season, when planted late 
in spring. 
When collections of these plants are put 
together in beds, it is desirable that each plant 
should have three or four largish lumps of 
stone placed around it, close to its branches, 
forming a rude embankment round it ; within 
these stones the soil may be slightly elevated 
above the general level, so that the plants 
when so planted are less liable to suffer from 
excess of moisture. The same mode of plant- 
ing is desirable for these and other small 
plants, when planted into a mixed border. 
Another advantage of this mode of planting is 
that the hoe and the rake are less likely to 
inflict injury on the plant when they are being 
used about it. 
They are very readily propagated to any 
extent by dividing the plant, each little crown 
of leaves being capable of becoming a separate 
individual. 
THE DROSERA, OR SUNDEW. 
The Droseras are singular and interesting 
bog- plants, of which several are known to 
botanists, and three species inhabit our own 
country. The trivial name, Sundew, most 
probably originated in the peculiar appearance 
of the plants ; the leaves are fringed or set 
with glandular hairs which exude, and each 
support a small drop or globule of a pellucid 
liquid like dew, which continues even in the 
hottest part of the day, and in the fullest ex- 
posure to the sun ; hence, no doubt, the name 
of Sundew. It is called in Latin Ros-Solis, 
which is the same as the English Sundew. 
They are among the most curious of plants, 
and as such deserve attention, but not being 
at all showy, either in or out of blossom, it is 
chiefly for their curiosity that their cultivation 
can be recommended. Associated, however, 
with the fly-trap (Dio?uea muscipida), the 
side-saddle flower (Sarracenia purpurea, and 
others) and plants of this character, a very 
interesting group is brought together. 
The Droseras belong to a small natural 
order called Droseraceaa, nearly related in its 
botanical characters to the Fumitories, and 
the Berberries. From Fuinariaceas they differ 
in having regular and symmetrical flowers, in 
which the stamens alternate with the petals, 
and from Berberidaceas they are distinguished 
(among other differences) by having regular 
and symmetrical flowers, in which the stamens 
are opposite the petals. These three orders 
form part of a group which Dr. Lindley calls 
the " Berberal alliance." 
The character of the genus Drosera is thus 
defined : — Calyx, deeply five-cleft ; 'petals, 
five ; stamens, five ; styles, three to five, 
deeply bifid ; capsule, one celled, with three 
to five valves, many seeded. Small herbaceous 
plants, having leaves covered with beautiful 
glandular hairs. We shall chiefly confine our 
remarks to the British species. 
Drosera rotundifolia, Linnaeus (round- 
leaved Sundew). — A small herbaceous peren- 
nial, forming when out of blossom a roundish 
tuft three or four inches in diameter of orbi- 
cular depressed or spreading leaves, of a green 
or sometimes purplish colour, beautifully 
covered with red hairs, terminating in large 
glands, which secrete a viscid fluid, which 
retains insects which settle on them ; the hairs 
on or near the margin of the leaves are 
usually longer than the others ; the underside 
is smooth, and the stalks slightly clothed with 
simple hairs. From the centre of this tuft of 
leaves rises the erect flower-scape from two 
to six inches high, which is of a reddish 
colour and leafless, curved at the top, and 
there producing a one-sided raceme of 
small white flowers, each of which, as it 
