OP ORNAMENTAL ANNUALS. 
235 
the base, and in Unarm it is spurred; there is likewise a little difference in the capsules. The peculiarities of 
the two genera will be easily discovered by comparing the common toad-flax, Unarm vulgaris , with the common 
snapdragon, Antirrhinum majus. All the Unarias are tall-growing plants with showy flowers, and all of the 
easiest culture in any common soil. The principal care they require is to thin them out, to prevent them from 
becoming drawn up, and weak ; as few plants look more straggling and untidy when this precaution is not 
attended to. TV here time is not an object, a few plants of Unaria may be grown so as to produce a splendid 
effect by raising them in pots, and frequently shifting them, as directed for Rhodanthe, till they are ready to go 
into flower, when they should be turned out of the pot, without breaking the ball of earth, into the open ground ; 
thus treated, the plants will present so different an appearance as scarcely to be recognised, and their flowers will 
be splendid. 
1.—LINARIA TRIPHYLLA, Mill. THE THREE-LEAVED TOAD-FLAX. 
Synonymes. —L. glabrata, H. B. and Kth.; L. neglecta, Clarke 
and Guss. ; Antirrhinum tricolor, Hort. ; A. triphyllum, Lin. 
Engravings. —Bot. Mag. t. 324 ; and our fig. 4, in Plate 43. 
Varieties. —L. t. 2 cocrulea, Cliav., has the corollas nearly all 
blue; the leaves narrower, and the plant more slender. L. t. 3 
peloria, Bam,, has the corollas shaped like those of the Peloria, or 
deformed variety of the common toad-flax. 
Specific Character. —Quite glabrous, glaucous, erect or ascending. 
Leaves ovate and elliptic, usually 3 in a whorl. Flowers disposed in 
dense, spicate racemes. Calycine segments oblong, or ovate-lanceolate : 
obtuse, shorter than the capsule.—(G. Don.) 
Description, &c. —This species of Toad-flax is easily distinguished from all the others by the peculiar 
disposition of its leaves, which grow three together, just at the base of the flower-stalk ; whence it has received 
the specific name of triphyllum , literally three-leaved. The colour of the flower is a less certain mark of 
distinction; as though it is generally three-coloured, that is, purple, white, and yellow, it sometimes varies to all 
purple, and sometimes to all yellow. It is a native of Sicily and Spain ; and it was introduced from the latter 
country before 1629, as Parkinson mentions it in that year, calling it the “ Tode Flaxe of Valentia.” It is quite 
hardy, and requires no other care than sowing in March or April. "When the plants come up, they should be 
thinned out, as if suffered to remain many together they become drawn up and weak ; whereas, if they are 
allowed room, several flower-stalks will spring from one root. The flowers should be cut off as soon as they 
fade, as, if the seed be suffered to ripen, the capsules will burst and scatter it; and self-sown plants will spring- 
up in such abundance, that it will be found very difficult to eradicate them. The seeds are generally sold in the 
seed-shops, under the name of Antirrhinum triphylla. 
2.—LINARIA SPARTEA, Rclib. 
Synonymes. —L. juncea, Desf. ; L. piaecox, Hoffm. et Link. ; 
Antirrhinum junceum, Lam. ; A. sparteum, Lin. 
Engravings. —Bot. Mag. t. 200 ; and our fig. 2, in Plate 43. 
Specific Character. —Plant erect, branched. Leaves linear-lancco- 
THE BRANCHING TOAD-FLAX. 
late, erect, quite glabrous ; lower ones often three in a whorl; superior 
one alternate ; those of the surculi flat, 3—4 in a whorl. Flowers on 
long pedicels. Calycine fragments linear, or linear-lanceolate, acute, 
glabrous or downy.—(G. Don.) 
Description, &c. —The flowers of this species are of the most brilliant golden yellow, and where the plants 
are allowed plenty of room to spread, they make a beautiful bed in a regular flower-garden. The species is a 
native of the shores of the Mediterranean, and the Canary Islands; and it was introduced in 1772. The seeds 
may be purchased in any seed-shop, generally under the name of Antirrhinum spartea , and they only require 
sowing in February or March in the open border. When the plants come up they should be thinned out, and if 
the weather be dry, they should be frequently watered. Tlius treated, they will become short, thick, branching- 
plants, and be covered with a profusion of flowers. 
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