OF ORNAMENTAL PERENNIALS. 175 
GENUS II. 
CENTRANTHUS, Dec. THE SPURRED VALERIAN. 
Lin. St/St. MONANDRIA MONOGYNIA. 
Generic Character. — Limb of calyx involute when the flower is I of many plumose bristles. Corolla with an obconical tube, which ii 
in blossom, but afterwards it unfolds into a deciduous pappus, composed I spurred at the base, and a regular o.lobed limb. Stamenl. {G.Don.) 
Description, &c. — This genus has been divided from Valeriana on account of the spur at the base of the 
flower, >Yhich is in fact very conspicuous. Centranthus signifies literally Spurred-flower. The species are all 
natives of Europe, growing generally in chalky soil. They are mostly erect, perennial plants, with erect stems, 
entire leaves, and the flowers, which are either red or white, produced in corymbose panicles. They are all quite 
hardy, and change very little from cultivation. 
1.— CENTRANTHUS RUBER, Dec. THE RED-FLOWERED SPURRED VALERIAN. 
SvNOHYMEs. — C, maritimus, Gray ; C. latifolius, Desf. ; Valeri- 
ana rubra, Lin. 
Engravings. — Eng. Bot. t. 1531 ; 2d ed. t. 37 i and our Jig. 4 
in Plate 42, under tlie name of Valeriana rubra. 
Specific Character. — Leaves ovate or lanceolate ; upper ones un- 
equal at the base, toothed a little ; spur one half shorter than the 
tube, and much longer than the ovarium ; stamens and pistil exceeding 
the corolla but a very little. (G. Don.) 
Description, &c. — This species is well known to every one who has visited Greenhithe or Gravesend, as 
nothing can exceed the splendid masses it forms on the chalk cliffs in that vicinity. It is, in fact, one of the 
handsomest of the British wild flowers ; though it does not display half its beauty when grown on any but a 
calcareous soil. The root is sweet-scented, and the stem is somewhat shrubby at the base. There is one variety 
with narrow leaves, and another with white flowers. 
2.— CENTRANTHUS LONGIFLORUS, Dec. THE LONG-FLOWERED SPURRED VALERIAN. 
length of the ovary. Stamens and pistil twice the length of the limb 
of the corolla. (G. Don.) 
Synonvme. — C. angustifolius, Bieb. 
SpEcinc Character. — Leaves lanceolate, linear, quite entire. Spur 
of corolla about equal in length to the tube, and about twice the 
Description, &c. — This species is a native of Armenia and Persia, introduced in 181 ?• It is remarkable 
for the length of the corollas of its flowers, some of which are more than an inch long. The flowers are red. 
Tlie plant should be grown in a sandy or calcareous soil ; and it is propagated by seeds (which it ripens freely) 
or division of the root. 
3.— CENTRANTHUS ANGUSTIFOLIUS, Dec. THE NARROW-LEAVED SPURRED VALERIAN. 
one half shorter than the tube of the corolla, and about equal in length 
to the ovary. Stamens and pistil projecting considerably. 
Synonymes. — Valeriana rubra ^ Lin. ; V. angustifolia, Cav. ; 
V. monandra, Viil. 
Specific Character Leaves linear-lanceolate, quite entire. Spur 
Description, &c. — This is the Spurred Valerian of France and Switzerland, where it grows on chalky clifls 
and rocky places. The flowers are red, but their corollas are only half an inch long. The species was introduced 
in 1759. 
There is another perennial species called C. vernosum, with white flowers, a native of Corsica, not yet 
introduced ; and one annual species. 
