Authors: L.
often densely so, to 1m or more across by 15-30cm in height. Leaves oblanceolate, 1-1.8cm long, sometimes more, deep green above, greyish beneath, densely borne along the stems. Flowers fragrant, light to deep rose-pink, 6-10mm long by 8-14mm across, downy without, in dense terminal clusters of six to ten or more, late spring to early summer. Central Europe from northwestern Spain to Bulgaria and the Ukraine, in sandy or rocky, acid or alkaline soils from sea level to 2500m. D .C. 'Eximia' is a vigorous collection of good colour and the one in general cultivation.
often simply as D. cneorum. D.c. 'Ruby Glow' has more richly hued flowers. D.c. forma alba and albiflora have white flowers (several white-flowered plants of differing origins are in cultivation). D.c. forma variegata (sometimes as 'Variegata') has yellow margined and argenteum has silvery white edged leaves. D.c. var. pygmaea from the Venetian Alps is smaller in all its parts, more compact and slow-growing. Other dwarf forms have been found, notably in the Pyrenees, and may be grown under the pygmaea name. D.c. var. verlotii from the Dauphine has a more semi-erect open habit to about 60cm across, with narrower but longer leaves (15-25 X 2-3mm). D.c. var. verlotii var. humifusa is much more compact with thread-likecreeping stems, possibly sometimes confused with var. pygmaea in cultivation. [Pl.143]
a, D. cneorum; b, D. genkwa; c, D. petraea; d, D. petraea var. grandiflora; e, D. retusa;
