DRACOCEPH'ALUM ALTAIEN'SE. 
ALTAIAN DRAGON’S HEAD. 
Class. Order. 
DIDYNAMIA. G YMNOSPERMIA. 
Natural Order. 
LABIATE. 
Native of 
Height. 
Flowers in 
Duration. 
Introduced 
Georgia. 
9 inches. 
July, Aug. 
Perennial. 
in 1787. 
No. 563. 
The word, Dracocephalum, is deduced from the 
Greek, and is literally translated in the name Dra- 
gon’s-head. It has an allusion to the flower, per- 
haps before it expands. The specific name, Altai- 
ense, is derived from the Altay mountains — an im- 
mense mountain-range of four or five thousand 
miles in length, extending along the northern por- 
tion of Asia. These mountains rival the most 
extensive in the world, and in many instances their 
granitic heads pierce the clouds, and are encom- 
passed by regions of eternal snow. 
The Dracocephalum Altaiense is known, in the 
nurseries, as Dracocephalum grandiflorum; but the 
latter species is an entirely different plant, having 
smaller flowers, and is only of annual duration. 
Our present species is very showy, and a suitable 
ornament for artificial rock work, where it can be 
protected from the ravages of snails, which is a 
work of no small difficulty. All circumstances con- 
sidered, it will be the most conveniently cultivated 
in pots, with the alpines. The compost for it should 
be sandy loam, or a mixture of loam, peat, and 
sand. It may be divided in spring or autumn. 
Hort. Kew. 2, v. 3, 420. 
