FIG. 114. ANTIRRHINUM ASARINA, showing Habit and Flower.
ANTIRRHINUM (from anti, like, and rhin, a nose or snout; alluding to the shape of the corolla). Snapdragon. ORD. Scrophulariaceæ. Hardy herbaceous plants. Flowers in terminal racemes, or solitary and axillary; corolla personate; tube ample, saccate at the base; lobes of the upper lip erect; lower lip spreading, having the middle lobes smaller than the lateral ones, with an ample bearded palate, which closes the throat. Seed pod or capsule two-celled, upper cell bursting by one pore, lower by two many-toothed pores. See Fig. 113. Leaves entire, rarely lobed. The genus contains several very handsome species, suitable for borders and the rockery, while innumerable varieties have originated from A. majus, which are very popular, and extremely useful for bedding purposes; these may be increased by cuttings or seeds; if it is desired to increase certain colours or varieties, the former is the only sure method to adopt. They should be taken in September, when they will readily root in a cold frame, or under a hand glass, or they may be rapidly propagated in gentle heat in spring. Seeds should be sown in July or August, when they will produce good plants by the following season; or if sown in March in warmth, the plants will bloom late in the same year. The "Tom Thumb" strain is especially desirable for bedding, being very dwarf and free. All the other species may be increased by cuttings and seeds treated in the same way. Light soil, well enriched with manure, is most suitable for all of them, especially for the varieties of A. majus.
FIG. 115. FLOWER-SPIKE OF ANTIRRHINUM MAJUS.
A. angustifolium (narrow-leaved). Synonymous with A. siculum.
A. Asarina (Asarina).* fl. axillary, solitary; corolla 1½in. long, white, sometimes tinged with red; palate yellow; tube glabrous, compressed on the back, marked by purple spots, and bearded by yellow hairs inside. June. l. opposite, on long petioles, five-nerved, five-lobed, cordate, and crenated. South France, &c., 1699. A greyish clammy procumbent plant, requiring a warm position on the rockery. See Fig. 114.
A. hispanicum (Spanish). fl. in loose spikes; corolla hardly an inch long, purple, with a golden yellow palate; tube villous. Summer. l. oblong-lanceolate, contracted at the base, bluntish; lower ones opposite; superior ones alternate, narrower. h. 1ft. Spain, 1878. SYN. A. latifolium.
A. latifolium (broad-leaved). Synonymous with A. hispanicum.
A. majus (large).* Greater, or Common Snapdragon. fl. racemose, approximate; corolla 1in. to 2in. long, shades infinite; palate yellow at top, very prominent; tube downy outside. Spring, summer, and autumn. l. oblong-lanceolate, 1in. to 3in. long; upper ones narrower, attenuated at both ends, glabrous. Branches erect, usually branched again. h. 2ft. Europe (naturalised in Britain). The named varieties are numerous, but it is unnecessary to enumerate any, as an equal amount of variation can be obtained from seed. See Fig. 115.
A. molle (soft).* fl. few, at the tops of the branchlets; corolla 1in. long, whitish, with a yellow palate; upper lip striped with purple. July. l. opposite, petiolate, clothed with glandular and clammy hairs, about ½in. long, and little more than ¼in. broad; branches procumbent, slender, clothed with woolly hairs. Pyrenees, 1752. A very pretty plant, which should have a warm position on the rockery. A. sempervirens comes close to this species.
A. Orontium (Orontium). fl. axillary, distant; corolla rose-coloured or white, striped with purple; tube furnished with a few glandular hairs; palate veined with purple; sepals linear-lanceolate, large. June. l. oblong-lanceolate, acutish, attenuated at both ends, glabrous, 2in. long. h. 6in. to 12in. Europe (British cornfields). Annual. See Fig. 116.
FIG. 116. ANTIRRHINUM ORONTIUM.
A. O. grandiflorum (large-flowered). A variety with larger, paler, and more approximate flowers, and with broader leaves, than the type. Europe (British cornfields).
A. siculum (Sicilian). fl. in loose racemes; corolla hardly 1in. long, white or yellowish, rarely purple; tube rather hairy; lobes of the upper lip and the middle lobe of the lower lip emarginate. July. l. 1in. to 1½in. long, linear-lanceolate, opposite, alternate or three in a whorl, narrowed into petioles at the base. Branches erect. h. 1ft. to 2ft. Sicily, 1804. SYN. A. angustifolium.
A. tortuosum (twisted).* fl. disposed in spiked racemes, approximating by threes and fours; corolla (the largest of the genus) purple; tube short; upper lip large. June. l. linear, acute, opposite or three in a whorl, 2in. long, attenuated at both ends; upper ones very narrow. Branches erect. h. 1ft. to 1½ft. Italy.
ANTONIA. A synonym of Rhynchoglossum (which see).