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Dodecatheon Meadia or American
Cowslip
Dodecatheon Meadia. Mead's Dodecatheon, or
American Cowslip
Class and Order
Pentandria Monogynia
Generic Character
Corolla rotata, reflexa. Stamina tubo insidentia. Capsula
unilocularis, oblonga.
Specific Character and Synonyms
DODECATHEON Meadia. Lin. Syst. Vegetab. p. 163. Sp. Plant. p.
163.
MEADIA Catesb. Car. 3. p. 1. t. 1. Trew. Ehret. t. 12.
AURICULA ursi virginiana floribus boraginis instar rostratis,
cyclaminum more reflexis. Pluk. alm. 62. t. 79. f. 6.
This plant grows spontaneously in Virginia and other parts of North
America, from whence, as Miller informs us, it was sent by Mr.
Banister to Dr. Compton, Lord Bishop of London, in whose curious
garden he first saw it growing in the year 1709.
It is figured by Mr. Catesby, in his Natural History of Carolina,
among the natural productions of that country, who bestowed on it
the name of Meadia, in honor of the late Dr. Mead, a name which
Linnĉus has not thought proper to adopt as a generic, though he has
as a trivial one.
"It flowers the beginning of May, and the seeds ripen in July, soon
after which the stalks and leaves decay, so that the roots remain
inactive till the following spring.
"It is propagated by offsets, which the roots put out freely when
they are in a loose moist soil and a shady situation; the best time
to remove the roots, and take away the offsets, is in August, after
the leaves and stalks are decayed, that they may be fixed well in
their new situation before the frost comes on. It may also be
propagated by seeds, which the [Pg 030]plants generally produce in
plenty; these should be sown in autumn, soon after they are ripe,
either in a shady moist border, or in pots, which should be placed
in the shade; in the spring, the plants will come up, and must then
be kept clean from weeds; and, if the season proves dry, they must
be frequently refreshed with water: nor should they be exposed to
the sun; for while the plants are young, they are very impatient of
heat, so that I have known great numbers of them destroyed in two or
three days, which were growing to the full sun. These young plants
should not be transplanted till the leaves are decayed, then they
may be carefully taken up and planted in a shady border, where the
soil is loose and moist, at about eight inches distance from each
other, which will be room enough for them to grow one year, by which
time they will be strong enough to produce flowers, so may then be
transplanted into some shady borders in the flower-garden, where
they will appear very ornamental during the continuance of their
flowers." Miller's Gard. Dict.
The Botanical Magazine or Flower-Garden Displayed |
