_Class and Order._

~Pentandria Monogynia.~

_Generic Character._

_Corolla_ campanulata, lacero-multifida. _Caps._ 1-locularis, apice
multidentata.

_Specific Character and Synonyms._

SOLDANELLA _alpina._ _Lin. Syst. Vegetab. p. 194._

SOLDANELLA alpina rotundifolia. _Bauh. Pin. 295._

[Illustration: 49]

Of this genus there is at present only one known species, the _alpina_
here figured, which is a native of Germany, and, as its name imports, an
alpine plant.

Its blossoms are bell-shaped, of a delicate blue colour, sometimes
white, and strikingly fringed on the edge.

It flowers usually in March, in the open ground; requires, as most
alpine plants do, shade and moisture in the summer, and the shelter of a
frame, in lieu of its more natural covering snow, in the winter; hence
it is found to succeed best in a northern aspect: will thrive in an open
border, but is more commonly kept in pots.