The Garden Magazine, November, 1923 
159 
the annual sort, but it evolved into a different plant. It is tall 
and branching (2-3 ft.), the big rosettes of glaucous leaves dying 
at flowering time, the leaves thicker and larger than with S. 
Armeria. The clusters are compact, dense rounded cymes, 
much more rounded and dense than the annual sort. This is 
the chief difference. The sticky band is usually present below 
each cluster, as with the annual species, but the flower is larger, 
longer, the petals not notched, but rounded or even pointed. 
The prevailing color is bright rose, but some are light red, and 
others pale pink to nearly white. June 10 to July 15. The 
climax of this tale is the fear that the plant is biennial, for there 
is no sign of sprouts at the base, but its crown looks like that of 
Sweet William when he has done his best. There will be plenty 
of seeds; it will certainly self-sow, and it shall stay in the garden 
because of its Oriental splendor, though a biennial usually has few 
friends. 1 will gladly send seed to any one who requests. 
Very probably it is S. compacta of Bailey, as the plant is wholly 
smooth and not hairy at all, as S. orientalis is described there. 
So also has S. Asterias grandifiora found favor. A stout un¬ 
branched perennial (to 3 ft.) in clump, leaves long, broad, dark 
green, mostly in rosette at base. The flowers are in dense heads 
like Sweet William, with sticky band below. In the variety 
grandifiora the color is deep crimson, the buds and calyx also 
reddish, like Dianthus carthusianorum. It might be mistaken 
for a Dianthus, except for the three styles and sticky stem. 
June. Apparently it is perennial and easy to grow. Wolcott Nur¬ 
series alone seem to offer it, though seed is obtainable abroad. 
Of Mitreworts and Purple Cows 
H^IARELLA cordifolia purpurea major may be a Mitrewort 
J- somewhere, and a purple-flowered one would surely be 
worth while. The plant I bought under that name is one of 
the American Heucheras, probably H. pubescens, and the flowers 
are greenish purple. The purple Mitrewort is yet in the class 
with the legendary purple cow! Tolmeia Men^iesH is more 
ornamental than many species of Heuchera. It is like Tiarella 
in many ways, the little nodding purple flowers are tinged green. 
It has three stamens while Heuchera has five stamens; Tiarella 
has ten stamens, and so has Tellima grandifiora, the five greenish 
red petals deeply cut to fringed threads. These two Western 
plants are very easy to grow, preferably in woodland conditions. 
These four groups are as similar in foliage and flower-stalk as 
the many children of a large family might be supposed to be. 
They are not sufficiently striking ever to be popular except in 
large-scale wild gardening. Tillarea cordifolia for white, and 
the many forms of Heuchera sanguinea, for crimson and pinks, 
seem to be the valuable ones. 
Pentstemons and Poppies 
J UST for excitement the genus Pentstemon is worthy of being 
tried out. A few kinds are common and easy, but the others 
are rarely seen in gardens. Two difficulties are evident in 
their culture: (1) The plants do not like the shipment from the 
distant Western states and establish poorly; (2) Plants bought 
from Eastern dealers under various names become converted 
into the common and easy sorts mentioned before. Again the 
easy but slow process from seed from Europe and California is 
the best process. One particular gem is suggested for a garden 
that needs clear pink, a pink form of Pentstemon barbatus. It 
is obtainable from Ralph E. Huntington. Its color is all that 
can be claimed for it. If you tire of the flaming scarlet of var. 
Torreyi, try this La France-rose pink form. 
Papaver pilosum has appeared to answer the roll-call in the 
form of another plant. Three lots of seed were planted last 
year and nothing was visible. One area was not disturbed, and 
early this spring some big clumps of imitation Iceland Poppy 
were seen, rising phoenix-like where nothing was expected. 
From late May through June and July the salmon scarlet 
Poppies wave on long, slender, hairy stems, leafless except near 
the base. The flowers look like a new kind of Iceland, but 
the branching stems are more like a long-stemmed Shirley. As 
the rays on the club-shaped capsule are mostly eight, and the 
plant very hairy, it is not P. pilosum, as planted, but P. rupi- 
fragum var. atlanticum. It is yet to be seen whether it is 
biennial, but seedlings seem to stand the winter without covering 
other than snow. So showy a plant, of such a long season of 
bloom, has a place in the border, even if short lived. Mr. T. D. 
Hatfield writes that P. pilosum has become a weed at Wellesley, 
and that he has not been quite successful in rooting it out. 
The perennial species of Malva, especially M. moschata, have 
a special charm, perhaps from childhood associations with 
“cheeses” But the flowers are too much mixed up with the 
leaves and later the plant is weedy and full of seed clusters. The 
virtues of Sidalcea (perennial) should be widely extolled. A. 
Candida (plants from Andrews) is my first acquaintance. It 
has the same deep, small, hollyhock-like root (a height of 2-3 ft.) 
and any sunny soil suits it. The basal leaves look like Malva 
and the deeply lobed upper ones are like Wild Geranium. The 
white Malva flowers are in a long dense raceme, well above the 
leaves from mid-June through July. Of the small-flowered 
Mallows this group is decidedly attractive. S. malvaeflora, in 
variety, and S. oregona are growing from seed. 
Anent Astilbe and Sundrops 
T O THE many species of Astilbe, hopelessly similar, we add 
Astilbe koreana. It was introduced by Prof. J. G. Jack 
of the Arnold Arboretum, whence seedlings were distributed to 
gardens. Its particular friend is Mr. T. D. Hatfield of Wellesley, 
who writes— “1 found it in Prof. Sargent's garden and brought 
a few seedlings to Wellesley. The almost leafless panicles are 
from a foot to eighteen inches high. The color varies from pink 
to white. The panicles are gracefully loose, not stiff, and quite 
full and feathery. It is the earliest of all to bloom outdoors, and 
forces as well as any. 1 consider it quite an acquisition. It 
has received a First Class Certificate of Merit from the Massa¬ 
chusetts Horticultural Society. The variation in color comes 
when raised from seed. It would be easy enough to fix any 
variety by division.” 
I satis glauca seems to be a Mustard with no near relatives. 
It has a tremendous tap-root like Horseradish, very white 
bloomy leaves like a young Cabbage or Sea-kale, and small 
yellow blossoms in big flattened panicles like a Turnip blooming 
its best. For feathery masses of yellow in the border in June 
and July it is very fine. Surely it is perennial, but the deep 
root is injured in transplanting. Seed from abroad. 
Oenothera Pilgrimii is obtainable from Farr. Though it 
has only “Hort.” standing botanically, it is quite distinct from 
the other Sundrops. It is very bushy, rather shrub-like, bearing 
many light yellow sundrops for most of June and July. As this 
plant is finely downy it is possibly a form of O. fruticosa, 
but the hairs are very short and slender. The calyx is pale 
yellow, not red tinged, as usually with O. fruticosa, and it 
differs from var. Youngii in that the foliage is not at all shiny. 
This group of day-blooming Sundrops is very confusing in the 
botanies and in the garden. 
A Fascinating Freak 
T HE champion freak of the garden is Lewisia Cotyledon. It 
looks like a slender Houseleek most of the year and makes 
“chickens” in a similar way. The edges of the leaves are 
reddish and rough, otherwise the fleshy rosettes look exactly 
like any Sempervivum. In June and July leafless stems rise 
eight inches high from between the leaves of the rosette and 
carry flattened panicles or corymbs of small pink-veined white 
flowers like large Spring Beauty, of the same family. The 
plant withstands zero winters and the baking heat of July suns 
in a bank of very sandy soil. For a rock garden or sandy land 
it is a beautiful wild flower. L. columbianum did not live 
through the winter, but next time may show better luck. 
Plants from Purdy. Nor did Bitter-root (L. rediviva) survive 
the long journey well from California, though drying and boiling 
do not harm its deep root. 
