A perennial plant, from the south of Europe. The roots are long and fibrous, and produce at their extremities numerous small, rounded or oblong, jointed, pale-brown tubers, of the size of a filbert. The flesh of these roots, or tubers, is of a yellowish color, tender, and of a pleasant, sweet, and nut-like flavor. The leaves are rush-like, about eighteen inches high, a little rough, and sharply pointed. The flower-stalks are nearly of the same height as the leaves, three-cornered, hard, and leafless, with the exception of five or six leaflike bracts at the top, from the midst of which are produced the spikelets of flowers, which are of a pale-yellow color.
Propagation and Culture.—It is propagated by planting the tubers in April or May, two inches deep, in drills two feet apart, and six inches apart in the drills. They will be ready for harvesting in October. In warm climates, the plant, when once introduced into the garden, spreads with great rapidity, and is exterminated with much difficulty. In the Northern and Middle States, the tubers remaining in the open ground are almost invariably destroyed by the winter.
Use.—It is cultivated for its small, almond-like tubers, which, when dried, have somewhat the taste of the almond, and keep a long period. They are eaten either raw or roasted.
"The plant grows spontaneously in the light, humid soils of Spain; and is cultivated in Germany and the south of France. The tubers are chiefly employed for making an orgeat,—a species of drink much used in Spain, Cuba, and other hot climates where it is known. When mashed to a flour,—which is white, sweet, and very agreeable to the taste,—it imparts to water the color and richness of milk."—Hort.
GERMAN RAMPION.
Tree Primrose. Evening Primrose.
Œnothera biennis.
The German Rampion, or Evening Primrose, common in this country to gravelly pastures and roadsides, is a hardy biennial plant, and, when in full perfection, measures three or four feet in height, with long, flat, pointed leaves, and large, yellow, fragrant flowers. The seed-pods are oblong, four-sided; the seeds are small, angular, of a brown color, and retain their germinative properties three years.
Sowing and Cultivation.—The seeds should be sown annually, in April, in a rich and shady situation; for if grown in a dry, sunny exposure, and sown very early in the season, the plants are inclined to run to flower during the summer: which renders the roots worthless; for they then become hard and fibrous. Sow in drills an inch deep, and fourteen inches apart; thin to six or eight inches in the rows; cultivate in the usual form; and, in September, the roots will be ready for use. For winter use, take up the roots before freezing weather, and pack in sand. For spring use, they may be taken directly from the ground.