PENTSTE'MON ARGU'TUM. 
SHARP-EDGED PENTSTEMON. 
Class. Order. 
didynamia. angiospermia. 
Natural Order. 
SCROPHULARIACEAi. 
Native of 
Heig’ht. 
Flowers in 
Duration. 
Introduced 
N. America 
2~ feet. 
July, Sept. 
Perennial. 
in 1835 ? 
No. 699. 
We have mentioned the existence ol a fifth stamen 
as the circumstance on wliich this genus has been 
established, and its name adopted. It may be in- 
teresting to many of our readers, to know that a 
fifth stamen may be naturally expected to occur in 
this flower, for so beautifully fixed are the laws of 
nature, that the different organs of plants bear some 
fixed relation to each other. Thus, our Pentstemon 
has five lobes to its calyx, the same to its corolla, 
and although it has but four perfect stamens, the 
abortive fifth indicates clearly their normal number. 
An analogy exists too between flowers, and leaves; 
and although it would be incorrect to state that 
flowers are metamorphosed leaves, still it can be 
shown that every appendage of a plant is originally 
composed of the same elements, and arranged upon 
a common plan, varying only from local predis- 
posing causes, which change one organ into another 
— leaves into flowers, and flowers into leaves. 
This newly introduced Pentstemon is showy, 
and is more bushy in growth than most others, re- 
quiring support. Its leaves large and irregularly 
serrate. Cuttings strike root readily. 
