Dodecatheon
– American Cowslip.
Hardy Perennial
Eighteen inches.
Flowers in shades of rose and white in May and
June.
The plant forms a ground-tuft or rosette of leaves
in the manner of the primula tribe and from it
rises a very stiff and straight stem crowned with
a cluster of drooping flowers not unlike cyclamens.
There are several varieties of which the best
are Jeffreyanum, rose-purple; Meadia, rose-pink;
Meadia album, white (the Latin “howler”
lies on the heads of the florist nomenclators)
and integrifolium, dwarf, crimson and yellow.
All the forms prefer a moist bottom and a half-shady
position. They are suitable for rock-work, if
the roots can reach a depth of good soil beneath
the stones. Plants should be put out about March,
while the growth is in the early stages.
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