Tab. 7356. 



TIGRIDIA VIOLACEA. 

 Native of Mexico. 



Nat. Ord. iRiDEiE. — Tribe Mor^eEjE. 

 Genus Tigridia, Ker. ; {Benth. et HooJc.f. Gen. Plant, vol. iii. p. 690.) 



Tigridia yiolacea ; bulbo oblongo parvo tunicis membranaceia brunneis, folh's 

 2-3 linearibus erectis glabria plicatis, caule gracili 1-2-cephalo, spatha? 

 valyis oblongo-lanceolatis viridibus, floribus 4-5-nig, pedicellis elongatis, 

 perianthio violaceo segmentis exterioribus lamina orbiculari ungue lato 

 cuneato pallido punctis parvis violaceis decorato, aegmentis interioribus 

 multo minoribus, antheris arcnatis oblongo-lanceolatis columna filamen- 

 torum aequilongis, styli ramis profundo bifidis patulis. 



T. violacea, Schiede, ex Schlecht. in Otto Sf Dietr. Gartenzeit (1858), p. 233. 

 Klotzsch in Ic. PL Bar. Hort. Berol. 60, t. 20. Planch, in Flore des 

 Serres, t. 998. Baker in Journ. Linn. Soc. vol. xvi. p. 136 : Handb. Irid. 

 p. 68. 



Beatonia purpurea, Herb, in Bot. Mag. sub t. 3779. 



In addition to Tigridia Pavonia and its near ally T. 

 Pringlei (Bot. Mag. tab. 7089) there are six small-flowered 

 species, which behave in the same way in their flowering' 

 as the old well-known type of the genus. They nearly all 

 inhabit the mountains of Mexico. Though the present 

 plant was introduced into cultivation by Bhrenberg more 

 than fifty years ago, it is still but little known. The wild 

 specimens in the Kew Herbarium are from Yucatan, 

 gathered by Linden and Chiapas, gathered by Ghiesbreght. 

 The Royal Gardens received the bulbs not long ago from 

 Messrs. Pringle and Horsford, of Vermont. It flowered 

 in a bed in the open air last July. 



Descr. — Bulb oblong, under an inch in diameter ; outer 

 tunics brown, membranous, produced above its neck. 

 Basal leaves two or three, erect, linear, glabrous, very 

 plicate, a foot long, narrowed gradually to the point. 

 Stem slender, erect, bearing one or two clusters of flowers. 

 Outer spathe-valves oblong-lanceolate, subequal, green, 

 two inches long. Flowers four or five in each spathe, 

 fugitive, opening successively ; pedicels long, finally stiffly 

 erect. Perianth two inches in diameter ; outer segments 



May 1st, 1894. 



