1876.] 
AMERICAN AGRICULTURIST. 
301 
THE CRISPED LEATHER-FLOWER. —(Clematis crispa.) 
the large-flowered pentstemon (Pentstemon grandijlorus.) 
are annually introduced with florists’ fanciful 
names; unfortunately these are not hardy in 
northern gardens, and being rather difficult of 
management, have tended to make Pentstemons 
unpopular. There are, however, among our 
native species several which are perfectly hardy, 
horticultural display that would delight the 
heart of any lover of flowers. As we looked 
upon these plants, we wished that those flower 
growers who are so impatient that they will 
not sow seeds of plants that will not bloom 
until another year, could have seen these 
varieties together, and shown in a most effective 
manner, made an impression upon the visitors 
that the others did not, and we doubt not that 
bis exhibition has done much to awaken atten¬ 
tion to these admirable plants. Probably a 
very large majority of intelligent persons who 
and so beautiful that they must eventually be¬ 
come popular. The genus presents a remarka¬ 
ble range of colors—pure white, blue, purple, 
the most intense scarlet, and many intermedi¬ 
ate shades. One of the finest is the Large- 
flowered Pentstemon (P. grandiflorus), found 
in Wisconsin, and westward and southward. 
The plant is robust in appearance, often reach¬ 
ing the hight of three feet, with thick, closely 
sessile leaves, which, as well as the. stem, are 
smooth and of a pale glaucous green, which 
makes the foliage noticeable. The flowers are 
in a long terminal cluster; they are oblong 
bell-shaped, and about two inches long; the tube 
is inflated below, with five nearly equal lobes 
at the mouth ; the color is a beautiful lilac-blue, 
pleasingly shaded, it being darker upon the 
tube than upon the lobes. The flowers appear 
in early June and continue for some weeks. 
The above engraving shows a flower cluster, 
somewhat under the usual size, but as in all 
wood engravings, the charm of color is want¬ 
ing. There are other Pentstemons that are 
more brilliant, but taking into account the 
stately habit of the plant, its attractive foliage, 
and its compact cluster of large flowers, which, 
if not showy, are very handsome, we do not 
think that there are any more desirable. This 
year we had a bed containing several hundred 
plants, which, when in full bloom, formed a 
Penstemons in flower; we thought that they 
would convince them that there were some pe¬ 
rennial plants worth waiting for. More than 
that, the hardy herbaceous perennials when 
once obtained will, most of them, bloom for 
many successive years. Plants of the genus 
Pentstemon have not received any common 
name; the botanical name is from the Greek 
words for Jive and stamen; most plants of the 
family have four or two stamens, but in this a 
fifth is present, but sterile, or without any an¬ 
ther; it is often quite conspicuous on account 
of having a beard of long hairs, though this is 
not the case in the species in question. 
Rhododendrons in America. 
The magnificent display of Rhododendrons 
by the English nurseryman, Anthony Waterer, 
at the Centennial, will no doubt give an impulse 
to the culture of these shrubs in this country 
which nothing else could have done. It is true 
that fine Rhododendrons were exhibited by the 
Messrs. Parsons, of Flushing, M. Y., and Henry 
A. Dreer, of Philadelphia, but their plants had 
not the prestige of having come from abroad ; 
they were only varieties of well tested hardi¬ 
ness, and were shown in the open air. Mr. 
Waterer’s collection being of tender and hardy 
visited the grounds during Mr. Waterer’s show, 
first made the acquaintance of the Rhododen¬ 
dron, and probably many of these think it is a 
“ brand new wrinkle ” in plant culture, brought 
across the ocean for the first time. We are 
warranted in this supposition when we find so 
intelligent a writer as Mr. Howells, in a gener¬ 
ally excellent article on the Centennial, in the 
July Atlantic Monthly, expressing himself in a 
manner which shows that rhododendrons are a 
novelty to him. After speaking of “ English 
Azaleas,” (whatever they may be), he says: 
“ At the fact that these [azaleas] and a houseful 
of rhododendrons could be safely brought so 
far and made to bloom so richly in our alien 
air, one may fitly wonder not a little.”—We do 
not single out Mr. Howells for special criticism, 
but as an illustration of the notices of these 
rhododendrons which have appeared in the vari¬ 
ous papers and magazines, and as showing that 
even our best writers, when they touch horti¬ 
cultural matters, are at once “ all at sea,”— 
“Alien air” indeed ! The rhododendrons, 
were, so to speak, only brought home. Ail of 
those exhibited that are of any use in open cul¬ 
ture in this country, are in good part “ native 
Americans.” The Rhododendron Cataicbiense, 
native in our southern mountains, may be re¬ 
garded as the foundation of the whole set of 
hardy varieties, and only those with a strong 
