August  6,  1903. 
JOURNAL  OF  HORTICULTURE  AND  COTTAGE  GARDENER, 
125 
Michauxia  campanuloides. 
If,  as  we  have  often  impressed  upon  us  in  familiar  words, 
“  Nature  abhors  a  vacuum,”  equally  does  she  detest  uniformity 
and  monotony.  This  is  as  evident  in  the  realm  of  plants  as  in 
any  other  sphere,  and  we,  her  children,  may  well  be  partakers  of 
her  spirit.  Even  in  gardening  there  is  nothing  more  wearisome 
than  to  pass  .some  time  in  a  garden  where  each  bed  or  border  is 
an  exact  replica  of  its  neighbours,  and  where  all  through  the 
same  dull  tale  of  monotony  prevails.  Fortunately,  such  gardens 
are  fewer  nowadays,  and  there  is  a  greater  desire  to  avail  our¬ 
selves  of  the  bountiful  choice  afforded  to  us  by  the  variety  of 
plants  at  our  command.  Yet  it  is  singular  how  in  this  even  the 
claims  of  fashion  seem  exigent ;  how  one  copies  another,  and  how 
the  latest  novelties  or  some  familiar  plants  are  seen  with  almost 
name  more  easily  negotiated  by  the  “  Man  in  the  street  ”  than 
campanuloides.  descriptive  enough  as  it  is. 
It  is  a  distinct  plant,  even  more  so  than  the  fim.-  and  newer 
M.  Tchihatcheffi — here,  again,  I  grieve  to  say,  we  musi.  re-echo 
Curtis’s  plaintive  remark  on  nomenclature' — and  always  attracts 
notice  in  a  flower  border,  with  its  tall  spike  of  curious-looking 
flowers,  whose  narrow  segments  recurve  like  those  of  a  ISIaitagon 
Lily,  and  present  a  singular  appearance  as  they  droop  from  the 
stem  and  the  axils  of  the  branches.  These  flowers  are  white, 
tinged  with  purple,  the  corolla  being  divided  into  eight  parts. 
The  leaves,  Avhich  are  thickly  covered  with  small,  closely-set 
bristles,  are  ii-regularly  lobed,  the  radical  ones  being  lanceolate 
in  shape.  The  whole  plant  grows  from  4ft  to  8ft  in  height,  its 
stature  depending  upon  the  soil  and  treatment  it  receives  from 
its  cultivator. 
The  main  charm  of  this  Michauxia  lies  in  its  di.stinctness  and 
A  Tasmanian  Show:  Chrysanthemums.  (See  page  128.) 
wearisome  reiteration.  New  favourites  oome  in;  old  ones  pass 
into  the  realms  of  oblivion ;  and  we  are  all  the  poorer  for  this 
forgetfulness  of  good  and  distinct  things. 
Among  the  distinctive  flowers 'that  ought  not  to  be  for¬ 
gotten — although  one  would  not  desire  to  see  it  everywhere^ — ■ 
is  a  very  distinct  member  of  the  Campanulacese  in  the  person  of 
Michauxia  campanuloides.  It  was  introduced  from  the  Levant 
in  1787  by  L’Heritier,  who  was  the  first  to  apply  the  name  of 
Michauxia  to  it  in  honour  of  the  French  botanist,  Andre  Michaux. 
The  name,  even  of  the  genus,  is  not  particularly  acceptable  to 
many  of  us;  but,  as  Curtis  says  in  the  “Botanical  Magazine,” 
where  it  is  figurecl  in  Table  219,  “  When  a  plant  has  been  named 
in  honour  of  any  particular  per.son,  that  name  must  be  retained 
in  all  countries,  how’ever  uncouth  its  pronunciation  may  be,  and 
there  are  few  of  our  readers  but  what  will  think  the  present 
name  sufficiently  so.”  We  must  thus,  I  suppose,  submit  to  this 
affliction  as  stoically  as  possible ;  but  one  would  have  preferred, 
for  the  sake  of  others,  had  Michaux  applied  to  the  species  a 
the  character  it  gives  to  the  border  in  which  it  is  grown,  a  group 
of  well-grown  plants  attracting  much  interest  and  forming  a 
welcome  variety  from  the  surrounchng  flowers.  Its  one  leading 
defect  in  the  eyes  of  some  is  its  biennial  duration,  which  necessi¬ 
tates  a  stock  being  annually  raised  from  seeds.  At  one  time  it 
was  thought  that  these  were  not  ripened  in  this  country,  but  this 
is  an  error,  in  some  parts  at  least,  and  in  any  case  the  seeds  are 
readily  procurable  from  the  trade.  They  should  be  sown  early 
in  spring  in  gentle  heat,  or  in  a  warm  spot  in  the  open  in  April. 
When  large  enough  the  seedlings  should  be  pricked  off,  and  in 
autumn  they  should  be  planted  where  they  are  to  bloom,  this 
being  a  warm,  sunny,  and  sheltered  position.  When  the  flower 
spikes  begin  to  show'  the  plants  should  be  staked,  although  in 
the  more  sheltered  positions,  where  protected  from  wind,  they 
look:  much  better  w’ithout  staking.  Tlie  soil  ought  to  be  rich, 
and  well-grown  plants  in  a  suitable  position  wdll  be  both  orna¬ 
mental  and  interesting  when  they  bloom  in  the  course  of  the 
summer  months. — S.  Aunott. 
