al to the gigantic
sun-flower.

There is a dwarf variety of it, and another with white flowers; it has
been observed to vary also in point of hairiness.

It flowers from July to October, and produces abundance of seed, which,
falling on the borders, generally comes up spontaneously in the spring;
but it is most commonly sown in the spring with other annuals: when the
seedlings appear, they should be thinned so as to stand a foot apart.
This plant requires very little care, and will bear the smoke of London
better than many others.

Was cultivated by the Dutchess of BEAUFORT, in 1707. _Ait. Kew._

The Stipulae on the stalk are deserving of notice, being unusual in their
form, and making it look as if beruffled.

[214]

DRACOCEPHALUM DENTICULATUM. TOOTHED DRAGON'S-HEAD.

_Class and Order._

DIDYNAMIA ANGIOSPERMIA.

_Generic Character._

_Corollae faux_ inflata: _labium_ superius concavum.

_Specific Character and Synonyms._

DRACOCEPHALUM _denticulatum_ floribus spicatis remotis, foliis
obovato-lanceolatis superne denticulatis. _Ait. Kew. V. 2. p. 317._

About the year 1786, we received from Philadelphia, seeds of a plant
collected at a considerable distance from that city, announced to us as
new and rare, and which produced the present species of _Dracocephalum_:
Mr. WATSON, Nurseryman at Islington, obtained the same plant from
Carolina, about the same period.

It is a hardy perennial, multiplying considerably by its roots, which
creep somewhat; it must be planted in a moist soil, and shady situation,
for such it affects, and in such only will it thrive.

It flowers in August and September.

It bears a considerable affinity to the _Dracocephalum virginianum_, to
which, though a much rarer plant, it is inferior in point of beauty; it
spreads more on the ground, its flowering stems are not altogether so
upright, nor so tall, the leaves are broader, and the flowers in the
spikes less numerous.

[Illustration]

[Illustration]

[215]

RANUNCULUS ACRIS FLORE PLENO. DOUBLE UPRIGHT CROWFOOT.

_Class and Order._

POLYANDRIA POLYGYNIA.

_Generic Character._

_Cal._ 5-phyllus. _Petala_ 5, intra ungues poro mellisero. _Sem._
nuda.

_Specific Character and Synonyms._

RANUNCULUS _acris_ calycibus patulis, pedunculis teretibus, foliis
tripartito multifidis: summis linearibus. _Linn. Syst. Veg. ed. 14.
Murr. p. 517._

RANUNCULUS hortensis