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Armeria (From Flos Armerioe Latin name)

(from Flos Armerioe, Latin name for the flowers of a species of Pink). Thrift; Sea Pink. ORD. Plumbagineoe. A very interesting and pretty group of hardy alpine tufted perennials. Flowers pedicellate, collected in dense solitary heads; involucre scarious, sheathing the scape and turned downwards; petals cohering at the base, persistent; flower scapes leafless. Leaves linear, radical. As the majority of the species differ in mere technical details, we have given a representative group only. They are easily cultivated in a sandy loam and leaf soil, and are increased by seeds and division, separate pieces being planted as cuttings under hand glasses; or the rarer kinds should be potted and placed in a frame. The seed should be sown in spring, in pots of sandy soil, and placed in a cold frame. Although best grown as rock plants, most of them do well in pots and borders. A. vulgaris makes one of the best of edging plants.

A. cephalotes (round-headed).* fl. deep rose or crimson, in a large roundish head on erect stalk. Autumn. l. broadly lanceolate, glabrous, acute; petioles channelled, sheathing at the base. h. 12in. to 18in. South Europe, 1800. This is perhaps the finest species, and is best raised from an annual sowing of seed, as it is somewhat difficult to increase by divisions. SYNS. A. formosa, A. latifolia, A. mauritanica, and A. pseudo-armeria. A. dianthoides (Pink-like).* fl. light pink, in close heads about 6in. high. May and June. l. spreading, flattened, nerved, slightly downy. South Europe, 1810.

A. formosa (handsome). Synonymous with A. cephalotes. A. juncea (Rush-like).* fl. rose pink, in small heads about 3in. high. June. l. small, erect, roundish, pointed, deep green. South Europe. A very pretty little alpine species.

A. juniperifolia (Juniper-leaved).* fl. deep rose, in small densely packed heads. May and June. l. short, stiff, erect, Juniper-like. h. 6in., with a dense tufted habit. Spain, 1818. Plant in a warm well-drained portion of the rockery in very sandy soil, with some nodules of sandstone intermixed. A. latifolia (broad-leaved). Synonymous with A. cephalotes. A. leucantha (white-flowered). A white-flowered variety of A. plantaginea. A. maritima (sea). Synonymous with A. vulgaris.

A. mauritanica (Mediterranean). Synonymous with A. cephalotes. A. plantaginea (Plantain-leaved).* fl. bright rose; scapes taller than in A. vulgaris. l. broader, three to five-nerved, and with a stouter growing habit than the common species. h. 1ft. South Europe, 1818. A very pretty species. SYNS. A. leucantha, which is frequently called A. p. alba, and A. scorzoneroefolia.

A. pseudo armeria (false Armeria). Synonymous with A. cephalotes. A. scorzoneraefolia (Scorzonera-leaved). Synonymous with A. plantaginea. A. setacea (bristly).* fl. light rose, in small heads about 2in. high, very freely produced from the axils of the leaves. April to June. l. in dense rosettes, erect, or nearly so, narrow, acute, the tufts having a bristly appearance. h. 3in. South Europe. Plant in a semi-perpendicular cranny of the rockery, with a sunny position.

A. vulgaris (common).* Common Thrift; Sea Pink. fl. pink, rosy red, lilac, or white (the latter known as A. v. alba), collected into a rounded head on the top of the simple scape. June to August. l. all radical, numerous, linear, usually one-nerved, more or less pubescent. h. 6in. to 12in. Britain, on the sea coasts. A. v. alpina is a dwarf alpine form of this species. The white-flowered variety is very handsome. A. v. Laucheana is also a pretty form, with deep pink flowers in dense heads about 6in. high, and a very tufted habit. Crimson Gem, of garden origin, is stronger growing, with stems about 9in. high, carrying heads of bright crimson pink flowers, also of tufted habit. SYNS. A. maritima, Statice Armeria.