Schizopetalon
(from schizo, to cut, and petalon, a petal; alluding to the cut or divided petals). ORD. Cruciferae. A genus comprising five species of erect, slightly-branched, half-hardy, annual herbs, natives of Chili. Flowers purple or white, in terminal, leafy-bracted racemes; sepals erect, sub-equal at base; petals unguiculate, pinnately lobed, involute in aestivation. Leaves alternate, sinuate-toothed or pinnatifid. S. Walkeri, the only species introduced, is a singular plant, thriving in a compost of loam, peat, and sand. Specimens should be raised in pots, in a greenhouse, during spring; some of them may then be planted out in the borders; others may be kept in pots, and placed in an airy part of the greenhouse, where they will produce seeds, although sparingly. When transplanting, care must be taken not to injure the roots.
S. Walkeri (Walker's).* fl. white, in long racemes; pedicels each furnished with a linear bract. May to August. l. alternate, sinuately pinnatifid. h. 1ft. to 2ft. 1821. Whole plant beset with branched down. (B. M. 2379; B.R. 752; H.E.F. 74; S.B.F.G. ser.ii.387.)