1887 - Leptosiphon??

What is leptosiphon?

Vick's Illustrated Monthly Magazine and Floral Guide had these border suggestions for the 1887 gardens.   I liked the look of the page, the simple pink gypsophila, the multi-colored leptosiphon... the what?!

What sort of name is that?! Leptosiphon sounds more like part of an octopus!

Leptosiphon.    Now that is a name not jiggered by any commercial hopes.  It is a seriously un-cute name!

I wondered, could it have stayed so aggressively unlovely for 120 years?   

Then I looked it up, and yes - it can stay so aggressively unlovely!

Most all ads for seeds or plants just call it Leptosiphon.  

One or two mention it has a cute name - False Babystars - but only two that I found listed it as such. 







I found no reference in a simple search of old seed catalogs for False Babystars. Wikipedia will fill you in on the plant.