Berkheya
(named after M. J. L. de Berkhey, a Dutch botanist). ORD. Compositae. A genus of ornamental greenhouse or hardy thistle-like herbs or shrubs. Flower-heads surrounded by a spiny involucre, the scales of which are united at the base only; pappus of many flat, obtuse or pointed scales. They are of easy cultivation in a sandy loam soil. The shrubs are increased by cuttings, placed under a glass; the herbaceous perennials usually by divisions of the plant in spring. The species most frequently seen in English gardens is B. purpurea.
B. grandiflora (large-flowered).* fl.-heads yellow; scales of involucre spiny toothed. July. l. opposite, lanceolate, three-nerved, spiny toothed, downy beneath. h. 2ft. Cape of Good Hope, 1812. Greenhouse evergreen. (B. M. 1844.) B. pinnata (pinnate). fl.-heads yellow; involucral scales spine-pointed, entire or toothed. Autumn. l. oblong, woolly beneath, deeply cut into lance-shaped segments. SYN. Stobaea pinnata. (B. M. 1788.) B. purpurea (purplish).* fl.-heads numerous, pedunculate, corymbose, circular, 3in. across, surrounded by an involucre of spreading or reflexed linear oblong bracts. l., lower ones 15in. to 18in. long, 2in. to 2 1/2in. wide, dark green, viscid above, paler and cottony beneath. h. 3ft. South Africa. A very handsome, hardy, herbaceous perennial. (G. C. 1872, p. 1261.) SYN. Stobaea purpurea.
B. uniflora (one-flowered). fl.-heads yellow; scales of involucre spiny toothed. June. l. alternate, lanceolate, three-nerved, spiny toothed, downy beneath. h. 3ft. Cape of Good Hope. 1815. Greenhouse evergreen. (B. M. 2094.)