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Eupatorium (Eupatorion is a name used)

(Eupatorion is a name used by Dioscorides and it is said by Pliny to have been so called after Mithridates Eupator, king of Pontus, who discovered one of the species to be an antidote against poison). Including Bulbostylis, Conoclinium, and Hebeclinium. ORD. Compositoe. A large genus of stove, greenhouse, or hardy, herbaceous or shrubby plants, many of which are very ornamental, whilst others are of no horticultural value. There are upwards of 400 species, most of which are American; they are rarer in the Old World. Flower-heads purplish, bluish or white, in terminal corymbs; receptacle naked; pappus rough, two-sexual; involucral bracts imbricate, two to three-seriate; florets all tubular, five-fid. Leaves opposite or rarely alternate, entire, dentate, or rarely dissected. Some of the hardy sorts form excellent border plants, and are of very easy culture in ordinary garden soil. These are propagated by division. E. atrorubens and E. ianthinum are distinct and useful winter-flowering plants, that require a warm greenhouse temperature. Cuttings of the young shoots strike easily in spring, if placed in heat, in a close frame. If grown on throughout the summer without being stopped, a large terminal flower-head will be produced by each the following winter. A house with a temperature of 50deg. to 55deg. will suit them when in flower, but this should be maintained, as the plants soon droop if exposed to cold. If pruned back annually after flowering, and repotted, large bushes may, in course of time, be formed. E. atrorubens grows the more vigorous of the two, and the flowers are darker than those of E. ianthinum, which is, however, a good old species, well worth attention. Both are generally known as Hebecliniums. The cool greenhouse species are readily increased by cuttings, inserted in spring. E. Weinmannianum is somewhat shrubby, and may be grown for several years if pruned in a little after flowering. It is a very useful subject for decorating or for cut flowers, in early autumn and winter. E. riparium continues the flowering period; and, as this grows rapidly, it is best to propagate each year. Any frame where plenty of air can be admitted, is suitable for it in summer, and a house where frost is merely excluded, is warm enough in winter. If placed in heat, the plants soon become weak and drawn. This species is slender-growing, and has a much finer appearance when three plants are placed in an 8in. pot, and the growths tied out with small stakes. The most suitable soil for the greenhouse Eupatoriums is a rich compost of loam and dried cow-manure, in about equal parts. Plenty of water is necessary at all seasons, and artificial or liquid manure may be used with advantage after the flower-heads appear.

E. ageratoides (Ageratum-like). fl.-heads pure white, numerous; corymbs compound, twelve to twenty-flowered. Summer. l. opposite, ovate, or somewhat cordate, stalked, coarsely toothed. h. 1ft. to 4ft. Plant branching. North America, 1640. Hardy herbaceous.

E. aromaticum (aromatic). fl.-heads white; corymbs loose, eight to twenty-flowered. Late summer. l. opposite, usually very shortly stalked, rounded, toothed. h. 3ft. to 4ft. North America, 1739. A strong-growing, variable, hardy species.

E. atrorubens (dark-red).* fl.-heads reddish, shaded with lilac, numerous. Autumn, winter. l. large, opposite, somewhat ovate, toothed. Mexico, 1862. A very neat and useful greenhouse species SYN. Hebeclinium atrorubens. (I. H. 1862, 310.) E. cannabinum. Hemp Agrimony. fl.-heads reddish-purple, in terminal tufts. July. l. three to five-foliate; leaflets lanceolate, serrate. h. 2ft. to 4ft. Stems erect, sub-simple, downy. Asia, Europe (Britain), &c. A very handsome native perennial, and one of the best of hardy species. (Sy. En. B. 785.) E. Haageanum (Haage's). fl.-heads white, small, in loose corymbs. l. opposite, ovate, acuminate, coarsely serrated. South America, 1867. An erect shrubby greenhouse plant.

E. ianthinum (violet).* fl.-heads purple, produced in very large terminal corymbs. Winter. l. large, ovate, soft, deeply serrate at the edges. h. 3ft. Mexico, 1849. A very useful greenhouse, winter-flowering plant. SYN. Hebeclinium ianthinum. (B. M. 4574.) E. macrophyllum (large-leaved). fl.-heads reddish-lilac, produced in large corymbs, in great profusion. Autumn, winter. l. large, cordate, dark green. h. 4ft. Tropical America, 1823. A very large greenhouse species, allied to the last-named. SYN. Hebeclinium macrophyllum. (R. H. 1866,42.) E. purpureum (purple). fl.-heads purplish; corymbs five to nine-flowered. Autumn. l. three to six in a whorl, somewhat ovate, or lanceolate, acuminated, rough, unequally toothed, downy beneath. h. 3ft. to 9ft. Hardy. North America, 1640.

E. riparium (river-bank).* fl.-heads white, numerously disposed in a panicle of terminal and axillary corymbs. Spring. l. oblong-lanceolate, deeply toothed. South America, 1867. A very desirable greenhouse plant. (R. G. 525.) E. Weinmannianum (Weinmann's).* fl.-heads white, sweetscented, large, corymbose. Autumn and winter. l. opposite, elliptic-lanceolate. South America, 1867. An elegant fragrant greenhouse plant. (G. C. n. s., v. 53.)