1879 .] 
AMERICAN AGRICULTURIST 
61 
The Flowering Spurge. 
(.Euphorbia corollata). 
Among the great number of our native plants 
figured and described in the American Agriculturist, 
the majority have been recommended for cultiva¬ 
tion by the amateur who grows plants for the love 
of them, and looks for no other return for his labor 
than the gratification he derives from seeing the 
plants flourish as well as,and often much better than 
they do in their wild localities. The present, the 
Flowering Spurge, is one of the few natives that, 
intense scarlet color. It is for these brilliant upper 
leaves—or bracts, as the botanist calls them—that 
large numbers of these plants are cultivated by our 
florists, as they are specially in demand for holiday 
decorations. In other greenhouse species, the in¬ 
volucre or flower-cup itself is showy, being furnish¬ 
ed with large petal-like scarlet appendages or lobes, 
which make it very closely resemble a real flower. 
In our native Flowering Spurge, Euphorbia corol¬ 
lata, these appendages are of the purest white, and 
the plant appears as if it bore a cluster of small 
white flowers, while it is really a mass of very 
showy flower-cups, inside of which the real, but 
is likely to become popular among florists and those 
who grow flowers for cutting. While we have no- 
doubt that the Flowering Spurge will prove a valua¬ 
ble plant to force for cut flowers in winter, we shall 
not advise its use until we see the results of ex¬ 
periments now being made in this direction. We 
have mentioned that the pistillate flowers stand out 
beyond the involucres ; as these are green and un¬ 
sightly, they much detract from the appearance of 
the cluster, and they should be picked off when 
used for bouquets, etc. We are glad to see that 
this very handsome native plant is offered by deal¬ 
ers, though some of them make a mistake in elaitn- 
FLOW bring spurge. —{Euphorbia corollata.) spreading bell-flower. —(Campanula divaricata.) 
Id the language of the trade, has “ money in it,” as 
It is one that may be grown by florists as a source 
of profit from the sale of its flowers. The genus 
Euphorbia, is a large one, there being over 700 
species which are widely distributed ; those found 
in temperate climates are herbs, often small and 
Inconspicuous, while in tropical countries they are 
shrubs and even small trees, some of which are 
very thorny and o f grotesque habit. Without go¬ 
ing into the details of structure, it may be said that 
the flowers are exceedingly simple, having neither 
calyx nor corolla; the male flowers consist of a 
single stamen with a small scale, and the female 
flowers of a single pistil upon a long stalk. Several 
of these simple staminate flowers and one pistillate 
flower are placed together in a sort of a cup or in¬ 
volucre, which hides the stamens, but the pistil, 
having a long stalk, stands out beyond the involu¬ 
cre, as shown in some o' the lower flowers in the 
engraving. This involucre, which passes for the 
flower, contains a whole cluster of very simple 
flowers. Though the flowers themselves are not 
showy, it is often the case that the parts surround¬ 
ing them are very much so. One of the most bril¬ 
liant plants of our hot-houses is an Euphorbia,popu- 
lerly known as Ibinseltia, the leaves which surround 
the heads of involucres of this, are of the most 
minute flowers are hidden, though in time the 
pistillate flower shows itself above it. Our plant is 
found from New York westward and southward; 
it is abundant in the pine-barrens of New Jersey, 
and in similar localities to Florida. It has a large 
branching perennial root, which sends up several 
stems 2 to 3 feet or more high ; the leaves upon the 
stem are scattered, without foot-stalks, and of the 
shape shown in the engraving ; at the top of the 
stem are several branches, and these branching 
again form the umbel-like flower cluster, at the base 
of which is a whorl of several leaves. The showy 
involucres are given in the engraving of the real 
size. As with other Euphorbias, all parts of this 
plant contain a milky juice which flows freely 
whenever a portion is cut or broken. The dried 
root has been more or less used in medicine, espe¬ 
cially in the Southern States, where it is known as 
Wild Ipecac ; it acts both as an emetic and cathar¬ 
tic. The Flowering Spurge is an excellent border 
plant, as it produces its abundance of—what in this 
sense we may call flowers—in July and August, and 
they last until October and November. The white 
petal-like lobes do not readily wither, and on this 
account the flowers are very useful for bouquets and 
floral decorations ; small, white, lasting flowers are 
always in demand for such purposes, and the plant 
ing that it is new. That enthusiastic cultivator, the 
late Joseph Breck, in his “ Book of Flowers,” pub¬ 
lished a quarter of a century ago, and in his later 
capital “New Book of Flowers,” speaks of it as 
a “most excellent species,” while it was figured and 
commended as long ago as 1819 in “ Loddiges’ Cab¬ 
inet,” and Duchatre states that it was introduced 
into the French gardens in 1803. Nevertheless 
the plant in the sense of being little known, is 
new, and we are glad that the dealers offer it, as 
it allows those who cultivate herbaceous plants 
to add a most useful one to their collections. 
The Spreading Bell-flower. 
(Campanula divaricata.) 
The Bell-flower genus, Campanula, with its over 
200 species and varieties, includes plants which, 
while they agree in structure, present a wonderful 
variety in habit, size, and general appearance. In 
size of flowers there is a great range, from some of 
the improved forms of Canterbury Bell, with flow¬ 
ers as large as a hen’s egg, to our little Spreading 
Beil-flower with “ bells ” scarcely a quarter of an 
inch long. This species, Campanula divaricata, is a 
native of the mountains of Virginia and southward; 
