Some
of the low-growing species are extremely useful for the rockery, such
as I. montana (the Mountain Inula), a fine dwarf plant with woolly
lanceolate leaves and dense heads of orange-colored flowers, resembling
in habit and general appearance some of the creeping Hieraciums. It is a
handsome and desirable plant for the decoration of old walls and similar
places, where it can be a little sheltered from rain and drip. Another
very useful species for this purpose is I. rhizocephaloides, found
plentifully in the Himalayas. It is one of the prettiest Alpine
composites we have. It seldom attains more than from one inch to two
inches in height, forming a dense rosette of short, hairy, oval leaves,
in the center of which the bright purple involucres, in the form of a
ball, are extremely interesting. It is easily cultivated, requiring,
however, a rather snug nook, where it will not be allowed to become too
dry. It is best propagated from seed. Then there is the woolly Inula (I.
candida), a pretty plant with small oval leaves, covered with a thick,
silky down, and much in the way of the white-leaved I.
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