A. japonica (Japanese).* fl. small, pure white, in large branching racemose panicles. May. l. triternate or pinnate, serrated. h. 1ft. to 2ft. Japan. This is best grown in pots, as early frosts generally cut it down in the open air. SYNS. Spiræa barbata and japonica, also Hoteia and A. barbata. See Fig 186.
A. j. variegata (variegated).* l. prettily variegated with yellow; panicles much more dense than the type; indeed, it is far superior in that respect.
FIG. 187. ASTILBE RIVULARIS.
A. rivularis (brook).* fl. yellowish-white, or reddish, in large panicled spikes. Late summer. l. biternate; leaflets ovate, doubly serrated, villous beneath and on the petioles. h. 3ft. Nepaul. A grand plant for the margins of lakes or damp woodlands. See Fig. 187.
A. rubra (red).* fl. rose, very numerous, in dense panicles. Late summer and autumn. l. biternate; leaflets oblique, cordate, 1in. to 2in. long, with elongated, serrated points. h. 4ft. to 6ft. India, 1851. A very pretty, but rare species; excellent for sub-tropical gardening.
A. Thunbergi (Thunberg's).* fl. small, white, very numerous, in erect, much branched, pyramidal panicles, with reddish and slightly downy stalks. May. l. unequally pinnate or bipinnate; leaflets broad, yellowish green, sharply toothed. h. 1½ft. Japan, 1878. This pretty little sub-shrub is extensively propagated on the Continent for forcing purposes.
ASTRAGALUS (a name applied to a shrub by Greek writers). Milk Vetch. ORD. Leguminosæ. A very large genus of hardy herbs or sub-shrubs. Flowers in axillary clusters; standard larger than the wings. Leaves unequally pinnate. About one hundred species have from time to time been introduced in English gardens; many of these are lost to cultivation; the comparative few here described are still generally grown, and are good representative species. They are all of easy culture. The shrubby kinds grow well in any light dry soil, and are slowly increased by cuttings placed in a cold frame, or by seeds. The herbaceous perennials prefer a dry light soil, and may be increased by divisions or seeds; the latter mode is preferable, as many species are very liable to die if transplanted or divided, which is at best but a slow method. Seed should be sown in pots of sandy soil placed in a cold frame as soon as ripe, or very early in the spring, as they may lie a long time before germinating. The dwarfer species constitute admirable rockwork plants, and can be grown in pots containing a mixture of loam, peat, and sand. Seeds of the two annual species, A. Cicer and A. Glaux, merely require to be sown in the open border early in spring.
A. adsurgens (adsurgent).* fl. bluish purple; spikes oblong, pedunculate, longer than the leaves, densely packed. June. l. with eleven to twelve pairs of ovate-lanceolate acute leaflets; stipules acuminated, length of leaves. Plant ascending, smoothish. Siberia, 1818. A very handsome and rare perennial species.
A. aduncus (hooked). fl. rose purple, in oblong spikes; peduncles rather shorter than the leaves. June and July. l. with numerous pairs of roundish-ovate, smooth leaflets, sometimes downy. h. 6in. to 9in. Caucasus, 1819. Perennial.
A. alopecuroides (foxtail-like).* fl. yellow, disposed in thick dense ovate-oblong spikes, on short axillary peduncles. June. l. with numerous ovate-lanceolate, pubescent leaflets; stipules ovate-lanceolate, acuminated. Plant erect. h. 2ft. to 5ft. Siberia, 1737. One of the finest perennial species grown.
A. alpinus (alpine). fl. bluish-purple, sometimes whitish, drooping, disposed in racemes of about ½in. long. Summer. l. impari-pinnate, with eight to twelve pairs of ovate or oblong leaflets. Britain. A very desirable, hairy, prostrate perennial.
A. arenarius (sand-loving).* fl. blue; peduncles few-flowered, rather shorter than the leaves. June. l. with linear-obtuse leaflets; stipules connate, opposite the leaves. Plant diffuse, tomentose from white adpressed down. h. 6in. Denmark, 1800. Perennial.
A. austriacus (Austrian).* fl. few; upper petal, or vexillum, blue, the rest purple; racemes pedunculate, longer than the leaves. May. l., leaflets glabrous, linear, truncately emarginate. Plant diffusely procumbent. South Europe, 1640. Perennial.
A. canadensis (Canadian). fl. yellow, disposed in spikes; peduncles about as long as the leaves. July. l. with ten to twelve pairs of elliptic-oblong, bluntish leaflets. Plant nearly erect, rather hairy. h. 2ft. to 3ft. North America, 1732. Perennial.
A. Cicer (Vetch-like). fl. pale yellow, disposed in spike-like heads; peduncles longer than the leaves. July. l. with ten to thirteen pairs of elliptic-oblong mucronate leaflets. Plant diffusely procumbent. Europe, 1570. Annual.
A. dahuricus (Dahurian). fl. purple, in dense racemes, which are longer than the leaves. July. l., leaflets, seven to nine pairs, oblong, mucronate. Plant erect, pilose. h. 1ft. to 2ft. Dahuria to China, 1822. Perennial.
A. dasyglottis (thick-tongued).* fl. purple, blue, and white mixed, in capitate spikes; peduncles a little longer than the leaves. June. l., leaflets elliptic-oblong, somewhat emarginate; stipules connate, opposite the leaves. h. 3in. to 4in. Plant diffuse. Siberia, 1818. A charming little alpine perennial.
A. falcatus (hooked). fl. greenish yellow, in spikes; peduncles rather longer than the leaves. June. l. with sixteen to twenty pairs of elliptic-oblong, acute leaflets. Plant erect, rather hairy. h. 1ft. to 2ft. Siberia (in wet, grassy places). Perennial. SYN. A. virescens.
A. galegiformis (Galega-like).* fl. pale yellow, pendulous, racemose; peduncles longer than the leaves. June. l. with twelve to thirteen pairs of elliptic-oblong leaflets. Plant erect, glabrous. h. 3ft. to 5ft. Siberia, 1729. A showy perennial species.
A. Glaux (Milkwort). fl. purplish, in dense heads; peduncles longer than the leaves. June. l. with eight to thirteen pairs of small, oblong, acutish leaflets. Spain, 1596. Procumbent annual, clothed with whitish hair.
A. glycyphyllos (sweet-leaved).* fl. sulphur coloured, in ovate-oblong spikes; peduncles shorter than the leaves. June. l. with four, five, to seven pairs of oval, bluntish, smooth leaflets; stipules ovate-lanceolate, entire. h. 2ft. to 3ft. Britain. A perennial prostrate trailer.
A. hypoglottis (under-tongued).* fl. variegated with purplish, blue and white, disposed in roundish heads; peduncles longer than the leaves, ascending. June. l. with numerous little ovate, obtuse, dark green leaflets, somewhat emarginate; stipules connate, ovate. Stems prostrate, rather hairy. h. 3in. Britain, &c. Perennial trailer.
A. h. alba (white-flowered).* This resembles the type, except in the colour of the flowers.
A. leucophyllus (hoary-leaved).* fl. pale yellow, about ½in. long, in dense racemes; peduncles much longer than the leaves. July and August. l., leaflets in numerous pairs, broadly-linear, covered with soft, silky pubescence. h. 2ft. to 3ft. North America. Perennial.
A. maximus (largest).* fl. yellow; spike sessile, cylindrical, nearly terminal. June. l. with ovate-lanceolate, pubescent leaflets; stipules oblong-lanceolate. h. 2ft. to 3ft. Armenia. A very handsome, erect, perennial species.
FIG. 188. ASTRAGALUS MONSPESSULANUS, showing Habit and Flower.
A. monspessulanus (Montpelier).* fl. usually purplish, spicate; peduncles longer than the leaves. June. l., leaflets twenty-one to forty-one, ovate or lanceolate, outer ones rather the smallest. Leaves hoary, and plant almost stemless when growing in dry exposed situations; but in rich earth or moist places the leaves are almost glabrous, and the stem becomes elongated. South Europe, 1710. This species is much appreciated, and well deserves a place in all collections. Evergreen trailer. See Fig. 188.
A. narbonensis (Narbonne). fl. yellow, disposed in somewhat globose spikes, on short axillary peduncles. June. l. with oblong-linear leaflets; stipules lanceolate. h. 2ft. to 3ft. Narbonne and Madrid, 1789. An erect hairy perennial.
A. odoratus (sweet-scented). fl. pale yellow, sweet-scented, disposed in spikes; peduncles same length as leaves. June. l. with eleven to fourteen pairs of oblong acute leaflets; stipules connate. Plant erect, rather ascending. h. 6in. Levant, 1820. Perennial.
A. onobrychioides (Onobrychis-like).* fl. beautiful purple, in capitate spikes on long peduncles. July. l. with eight to ten pairs of elliptic leaflets; stipules connate, opposite the leaves. Plant rather diffuse, shrubby at the base, clothed with adpressed hairs. h. 9in. to 12in. Iberia, Persia, &c., 1819. A very handsome perennial species.
A. Onobrychis (Onobrychis). fl. purple; spikes oblong-ovate, pedunculate, longer than the leaves. June. l. with seven to sixteen pairs of oblong leaflets. h. 1½ft., or procumbent. Mountains Southern Europe, 1640. This is an elegant perennial, and ranks among the very best. The varieties, all white flowered, are: alpinus, major, microphyllus and moldavicus, but only the first-named is now in cultivation.
A. pannosus (woolly).* fl. rose-coloured, in compact globose heads, with peduncles shorter than the leaves. July. l. with four, five, to nine pairs of ovate-lanceolate leaflets, thickly coated with long white woolly hairs. h. 6in. to 9in. Siberia. Perennial.
A. ponticus (Pontic). fl. yellow; spikes sessile, almost globose. July. l. oblong, smoothish; stipules lanceolate. Stem rather hairy. h. 2ft. Tauria, 1820. A very showy, erect, border perennial.
A. purpureus (purple). fl. purplish blue, disposed in capitate spikes; peduncles longer than the leaves. June. l., leaflets obovate, bidentate at the apex; stipules connate, opposite the leaves. Plant diffuse, procumbent, rather hairy. h. 3in. to 6in. Provence, 1820. Perennial.
A. sulcatus (furrowed).* fl. pale violet, but with a white keel, tipped with brown; racemes pedunculate, longer than the leaves. July. l. with linear-lanceolate leaflets. Plant erect, glabrous; stem furrowed. h. 2ft. to 3ft. Siberia, 1783. Perennial.
A. Tragacantha (great goat's thorn).* Gum Tragacanth. fl. pale violet, two to five together, axillary, sessile. June. l. with eight to nine pairs of linear hispid leaflets; young stipules connate, clothed with silky hairs; adult ones glabrous; petioles permanent, at length becoming hardened spines. h. 1½ft. to 3ft. Levant, 1640. Evergreen shrub. Tragacanth, a partially soluble gum, was formerly supposed to be furnished by this plant. It is, however, now known that A. Tragacantha yields none. Several species from mountainous regions in Asia Minor, &c., furnish the gum.
A. vaginatus (sheathed-stipuled). fl. rosy-purple, with white-tipped wings; calyx rather inflated, covered with soft white and black hairs; spikes dense. Summer. l. impari-pinnate, with seven or eight pairs of elongated-oblong leaflets, both surfaces covered with short silvery hairs. h. 1ft. Siberia. Perennial.
A. vesicarius (bladdery). fl., upper petal purple, the wings yellow, and the keel white, tipped with yellow; calyx clothed with black adpressed down and long white spreading hairs; peduncles longer than the leaves. July. l. with five to seven pairs of elliptic leaflets. Plant diffusely procumbent, hoary from adpressed silky down. h. 6in. to 9in. France, 1737. Perennial trailer.
A viminens (twiggy). fl., upper petal purplish rose, much longer than the pure white wings; calyx clothed with black hairs; spikes somewhat capitate, pedunculate, longer than the leaves. June. l. with four to six pairs of lanceolate acute leaflets, beset with adpressed hairs. h. 6in. to 1ft. Siberia, 1816. A handsome perennial.
A. virescens (greenish). Synonymous with A. falcata.
A. vulpinus (fox).* fl. pale yellow; spikes nearly globose, on very short peduncles. June. l. with obovate, obtuse, emarginate, rather velvety leaflets. Plant erect; stem glabrous. h. 2ft. to 3ft. Caucasus, 1815. A handsome border perennial.
ASTRANTIA (from astron, a star, and anti, in composition signifying comparison; in reference to the appearance of the umbels of flowers). ORD. Umbelliferæ. Ornamental, hardy, herbaceous perennials, natives of Europe and Caucasus. Universal umbels irregular, of few rays, surrounded by variable involucre; partial umbels regular, and containing many flowers, surrounded by many-leaved involucels. Radical leaves petiolate, palmately lobed; cauline ones few, sessile. Roots blackish. These are suited for borders, banks, and woodlands, growing well in any ordinary garden soil, but preferring a damp position. Easily increased by root divisions in autumn or spring.