Erinus
(Erinos, a plant mentioned by Dioscorides). ORD. Scrophularineae. A very pretty tufted alpine plant, suitable for growing (in dwarf positions) on well-drained rockwork, amongst stony or gritty peat and loam, or on brick walls, in which situations it is easily established by sowing the seed in earthy holes and crevices. When the plants are developed, the seeds become self-sown, and the produce from these withstand the winter best. It may also be propagated by division.
E. alpinus (alpine).* fl. purple, alternate; racemes simple, terminal, sub-corymbose. March to June. l. tufted, spathulate, deeply serrated, hairy. h. 5in. to 6in. Mountains of Western Europe (naturalised here and there in Britain), 1739. (B. M. 310.) There is also a white-flowered variety.