198 HARDY PERENNIALS 
will devour every leaf and shoot of this plant, 
which has been christened ' Cat Thyme.' 
Thalictrum. — If there were no other charm than 
that of their foliage the Thalictnims would be too 
good to be overlooked, for the finely divided leaves 
have the grace and elegance of ferns, although of 
tougher and sturdier tissue. T. minus adiantifolium 
closely resembles the Maidenhair fern, and even the 
largest and coarsest forms of Aquilegifolium are 
still elegant with spreading leaves like those of the 
Aquilegias. But in addition to the frond-like leaves 
the flowers are peculiarly beautiful and of very 
uncommon form. They have not broad, showy 
petals, but in most cases have loose bunches of 
fluffy stamens backed by small sepals which are 
greenish, creamy, rosy or purple. In anemonoides 
and petaloideum the sepals are flattened out 
in petal form, and there is a double form of 
anemonoides in which the stamens also are flattened. 
The Aquilegia-leaved varieties have big loose bunches 
of soft feathery flowers, there being purple, rose, 
and white varieties. T. fiavum is a native plant 
with yellow heads, easy of culture, as indeed the 
whole family may be said to be. T. glaucum is 
another very effective plant with pale yellow flowers. 
The gem of the whole family is T. dipterocarpum, 
producing long and most elegant panicles of violet- 
coloured flowers with amber-yellow stamens in the 
centre. This plant makes a delightful pot plant, 
and should thus be treated except where it can be 
