Antirrhinum Sparteum

The drawing here exhibited gives but a faint idea of the elegant and lively appearance which this plant assumes when it grows in a tuft, and a number of its branches are in blossom at the same time.It is a hardy annual, of small stature, a native of Spain, and flowers during most of the summer.Was introduced into this country, according to Mr. Aiton, in 1772, by Mons. Richard, and deserves to be much more generally cultivated.Some regard it as a biennial, but as seeds of it sown in the spring flower the ensuing summer, and as the plant dies when it has ripened its seeds, there appears more propriety in considering it as an annual.It is to be sown in the same manner as other hardy annuals, will flower earlier if the seeds have been raised in autumn.The upper part of the stalk, as well as the leaves of the calyx, are beset with viscous hairs, in which respect it does not perfectly accord with Linn?uss description. Vid. Sp. Pl. ed. 3. p. 854.