June 2, 18»2. ] 
JOURNAL OF HORTICULTURE AND COTTAGE GARDENER. 
409 
up a sandstone block near the base of a sheltered rockery facing 
the south-west. Very beautiful is that clcse creeping screen of 
dense green foliage, scarcely rising above the surface of the stone 
to which it clings, and adorned with tiny, starry, pure white 
flowers rising above the foliage on short stalks, and opening with 
the sun. Planted at the base of a piece of sandstone, which it 
seems to prefer to any other stone, it will soon creep over it, 
especially if the stone is kept fairly moist. A. balearica was 
introduced from Majorca in 1787, and is found in several other 
of the Balearic Isles, and also in Corsica. It is of evergreen 
habit, and the flowers are freely produced over the plant, although 
there is only one on each stem. 
Close to the little Arenaria is another white flower, perhaps one 
of the most admired of all the Buttercups in my garden. 
Few who see it and who are unacquainted with the botanical 
characteristics of plants would recognise in Ranunculus amplexi- 
caulis, the Stem-clasping Crowfoot, a near relative of the yellow 
flower of our fields, so great a favourite with all children. Be 
this as it may, R. amplexicaulis is, despite its somewhat repellent 
name, a favourite with all who see its fine white flowers, with 
yellow centres, produced from one to six on each stem. Nor does 
the foliage detract from the beauty of the plant, as the handsome 
glaucous, undivided, ovate or lance-shaped leaves clasping the stem 
add to its beauty. It grows from 3 to 9 or 12 inches in height, 
according to the quality of the soil or the quantity of moisture at 
command. It is not, however, very fastidious, but I find it likes 
a fair amount of sunshine. It is strictly herbaceous, and its 
situation should be marked, in case its bundled roots should be injured 
during operations in the garden. Although occasionally met with 
it is still too rare in gardens, although introduced from the 
Pyrenees as long ago as 1633. It is also a native of the Alps and 
other European mountain ranges. R. amplexicaulis will be found 
figured in “ Maund’s Botanic Garden.” 
Flowering freely in another part of the garden is the beautiful 
Prophet Flower (Arnebia echioides), one of the most desirable of 
our early yellow-flowered rock or border plants. It is now some 
years since its original introduction from Armenia, but I am 
unable to trace the exact date of its arrival in our gardens. 
Although it has been widely spoken of and highly prized it has not 
found its way everywhere, probably owing to the fact that it still 
remains higher in price than many of our border or alpine plants. 
This may be partly caused by the fact that its producing seed only 
rarely in this country militates against its rapid increase, and we 
have only two methods which may be usually adopted—by division 
or by means of root cuttings taken in the early months of the year. 
It grows plentifully in the Caucasus, Persia, Turkestan, &c., and 
a quantity of these plants covering the ground so freely as they are 
said to do with pleasing yellow flowers must form an attractive 
sight. But those of us who cannot see the Prophet Flower in its 
native haunts need not miss the genuine pleasure to be derived from a 
plant or two in our British gardens as we view its delicate yellow 
flowers marked on first opening with five black spots, fading gradu¬ 
ally away, and which from the legend current in India are said to 
have been the marks of the fingers of Mahomet. One could gladly 
say more about this beautiful flower, but the little space left must 
allow of notice of one or two other plants. 
Very pleasing now are some of the Muscaris or Grape 
Hyacinths, and a description of the seventeen or eighteen species 
and varieties in my garden would not fail to interest some. Un¬ 
fortunately the Grape Hyacinths have acquired a bad reputation 
for seeding, but in the case of he rarer sorts we would gladly 
wish they deserved the character. As, however, I wish to mention 
at least one Erythronium and one Fritillaria in addition, I shall 
only speak briefly of three Muscaris now in flower. The flnest as 
regards size and general effect is the large, deep, yet bright blue 
flowered M. conicum with finely formed spike. The others are 
M. atlanticum with a close spike of charming flowers of exquisite 
cornflower blue, and a somewhat rare, as I believe, variety of 
M. racemosum named carneum, and more worthy of its varietal title 
than the variety of M. botryoides bearing the same name. The 
variety of racemosum has much deeper coloured flowers, much nearer 
the tint known as flesh colour. Very pretty, too, has been the little 
Erythronium Hartwegi, a new Dog’s-tooth Violet from North 
America, with yellow flowers produced from three to six on an 
umbel sessile at the ground, and having prettily marked leaves. 
Quaint and curious also are most of the Fritillarias, and some have 
a fantastic beauty all their own. One of the prettiest is F. contorta, 
which I have flowered for the first time, and which with its 
curiously contorted stem and pretty white flowers combines the 
fantastic with the beautiful. In flowers such as these we seem 
to see the work of Nature in her merry moods, and feel more 
than ever how deeply interesting and delightful is the study of 
these flowers, which defy the rigours of our wintry clime.— 
S. Arnott. 
Aeranthus (Angr.®cum) Leonis. 
This lovely little plant was discovered by M. Leon Humblot in 
the Comoro Islands in 1885, and was described by Professor 
Reichenbach in June of the same year. It is very dwarf, the 
leaves being about 6 inches long and sword-shaped ; they are thick, 
leathery, and only cleft where they join the stem. The racemes 
carry from two to six flowers, each about 1^ inch across, and 
ivory white. The lip is very broad and rounded. The spur, which 
FIG. 71.— -AERANTHUS LEONIS. 
is often 5 inches long, doubles back in a very peculiar manner. 
Angrsecum Leonis (fig. 71), as this plant is now generally named, 
is not grown to any great extent, although it amply repays 
the attention bestowed upon it. Mons. Humblot discovered 
A. Leonis at an elevation of 5000 feet, and consequently it may be 
grown in an intermediate house ; but the warm or East Indian 
