THE CINERARIA. 
PROF. WILLIAM K. HIGLEY, 
Secretary Chicago Academy of Sciences. 
IN THE early days of the Colum- 
bian Exposition, before people had 
ceased to wonder at the unex- 
pected and unusual sights, there 
were beautiful displays of plants in 
flower, on a scale never before at- 
tempted, at least in this part of the 
world. 
Those wise enough to respond to 
the invitation to visit the long, low 
green houses in Jackson Park, before 
the more pretentious Horticultural 
Building was ready for use, will never 
forget the royal mass of blossoms 
which greeted their eyes as they passed 
through long aisles of bloom. 
The announcement that the cineraria 
was on exhibition meant little to many, 
but to those who found their way to the 
park during the chilly spring days and 
patiently trudged over unfinished paths, 
and through rubbish and incomplete- 
ness, the announcement opened the 
door to a sight so wonderfully fine and 
complete, so astonishing, and so de- 
lightful, that to look was to exclaim 
and admire, and to admire was to re- 
member, and, months after, to long for 
another sight of that billowy mass of 
pinky-purplish bloom. 
The Compositae, the family of plants 
to which the cinerarias belong, con- 
tains about seven hundred and sixty 
genera and over ten thousand species, 
embracing approximately one-tenth of 
all the flowering forms. This is the 
largest family of plants and includes 
the goldenrod, the sunflower, the aster, 
the chrysanthemum, the thistle, the 
lettuce, the dandelion, and many others. 
The species are widely distributed, 
though more common in temperate or 
hot regions, the largest number being 
found in the Americas. 
Though a family of herbs, there are a 
few shrubs and in the tropics a small 
number of trees. The cultivated forms 
are numerous, and some are among our 
most beautiful fall plants. 
The flowers are collected together in 
heads, and sometimes are of two kinds 
(composite). Using the sunflower for 
an example we find a disk of tubular 
flowers in the center and, growing 
around it, a row of strap-shaped flow- 
ers, while in the dandelion they are all 
strap-shaped, and in some other species 
all are tubular. 
The cineraria is an excellent illus- 
tration of the composite form, which 
bears both kinds of flowers. 
The name cineraria (Latin, cinerarius, 
from cinis, ashes) was given to these 
plants because of the grayish down that 
covers the surface of the leaves. 
The cinerarias form a large genus 
of practically herbaceous plants, and 
are chiefly natives of southern Africa 
and southern and eastern Europe. 
The varieties vary greatly from white 
to pinkish-purple and through various 
shades to dark, bluish-purple. 
They are quite easily cultivated, but 
are house plants in temperate lati- 
tudes. They are peculiarly liable to 
attacks of insects, plant-lice {Aphides) 
being especially an enemy. 
The florist's varieties are chiefly pro- 
duced from the species Cineraria ctu- 
enta. Beautiful hybrids have been de- 
veloped from this and other species, 
and the flower certainly deserves the 
popularity it has attained through ster- 
ling merit. 
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