POLEMONIUM, GREEK VALERIAN, or Jacob's Ladder: A genus of the monogynia order, belonging to the pentandria class of plants; and in the natural method ranking under the 29th order, Campanaceæ. The corolla is quinquipartite; the stamina inserted into scales, which close the bottom of the corolla; the stigma is trifid: the capsule bilocular superior. There are two species, of which the most remarkable is the cucullum, with an empalement longer than the flower. It grows naturally in some places of England; however, its beauty has obtained it a place in the gardens. There are three varieties; one with a white, another with a blue, and another with a variegated flower; also a kind with variegated leaves. They are easily propagated by seeds; but that kind with variegated leaves is preserved by parting its roots, because the plants raised from seeds would be apt to degenerate and become plain.