Scientific American Supplement, No. 561, October 2, 1886Various
Science
Scientific American Supplement, No. 561, October 2, 1886
Various
Science -- Periodicals
Besides the beautiful flowers of Scabious mentioned before, a new
feature in the meadows here was the abundance of Astrantia major. A
pure white Hesperis matronalis was also common, but I saw no purple
forms of it. Geranium phaeum also grew everywhere in the fields, the
color of the flower varying a good deal. Hepaticas were not so common
by the roadside here as at Eaux Bonnes, but are generally distributed.
Many of them have their leaves beautifully marbled, and I selected and
brought away a few of the best, in hopes that they may keep this
character. I was struck everywhere by the one-crowned appearance of
the Hepaticas, as if in their second year from seed.
On the mountains, where they were still in flower, I did not find the
colors mixed, but on one mountain they would be all white, on another
all blue. I do not recollect to have seen any pink. Meconopsis
cambrica is common in the Pyrenees. I observe that in Grenier's
"French Flora" the color of the flower is given as "jaune orange," but
I never saw it either in England or in France with orange flowers till
I saw it covering a bank by the side of the road to the Vallee du Lys.
I was too much struck by it to delay securing a plant or two, which
was lucky, for when we returned every flower had been gathered by some
rival admirers.
Another expedition from Luchon is to the Lac d'Oo. This, too, is
famous for flowers; but especially so is a high valley called Val
d'Esquierry, 2,000 ft. or 3,000 ft. above the village d'Oo, at which
the carriage road ends. Botanists call this the garden of the
Pyrenees, and, of course, I was most anxious to see it.
The landlord of our hotel was quite enthusiastic in his description of
the treat in store for me, enumerating a long catalogue of colors, and
indicating with his hand, palm downward, the height from the ground at
which I was to expect to see each color. I was afterward told that he
had never been to the famous valley, being by no means addicted to
climbing mountains.
During the first part of the drive from Luchon we saw hanging from the
rocks by the roadside large masses of Saponaria ocymoides, varying
much in the shade of color of the flowers. This is a plant which I
find it better to grow from cuttings than from seed. The best shades
of color are in this way preserved, and the plants are more flowery
and less straggling. As we got near the end of the carriage road, the
meadows became more crowded with flowers known in England only in
gardens.
Besides such plants as Geranium pyrenaicum growing everywhere on the
banks, the fields were full of a light purple geranium--I think
sylvaticum. Here, too, I noticed Meconopsis cambrica with orange
flowers. Narcissus poeticus was also there, and so were some splendid
thistles, large and rich in color. But the most remarkable part of the
coloring in the meadows was produced by different shades of Viola
cornuta carpeting the ground. We noticed this plant in many parts of
the Pyrenees, but here especially.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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