176 Dr Graham's Descript'Km of New or Rare Plarits. 



Nierembergiay the flower in shape and structure precisely that of Salpi- 

 glossis integrifolia of Hooker, Nierembergia phosnicea of Don. 



Scilla villosa. 



S. villosa ; foliis lanceolatis, laxis, villosis ; racemis corymbosis ; bracteis, 



lanceolatis, pedunculos sequantibus. — Sprengel. 

 Scilla villosa, Desfmtaities, FL Atlant. 1. 299. t. 85. f. 2 — Pers. Synops. 

 1. .365 Sprengel, Syst. Veget. 2. 67- 



Description Bulb ovate, coated, about the size of a small onion, trun- 

 cated below, strong wrinkled nearly straight roots descending from with- 

 in the edge, their, branches spreading and villous. Leaves (3 inches long, 

 half an inch broad) about four, all radical, spathulato-lanceolate, atte- 

 nuated at the base, and there concave in front, nearly flat above, spread- 

 ing, more or less ciliated with rather long but unequal spreading hairs, 

 and more sparingly villous on the upper surface, glabrous below, and 

 there purple in the lower half, involute at the apex, pving the appear- 

 ance of a mucro. Scape (H inch long below the first pedicel) erect, 

 shorter than the leaves, nearly round, glabrous, pale green. Bractece (7 

 lines long) single, lanceolate, attenuated at the apex, persisting. Ra- 

 cemes corymbose, few (5-7) flowered ; pedicels erect, stout, resembling 

 the scape, each springing from the axil of a bractea, embraced by it 

 at the base, and equal to it in length in the native specimens, in the 

 cultivated twice as long as it. Corolla (9 lines across) 6-petaled, spread- 

 ing ; petals ovate, attenuated at the base, each with a small tuft of crys- 

 talline tomentum at the apex, pale lilac, with a broad deep green stripe 

 in the centre below. Stamens shorter than the petals, rising from their 

 bases, and adhering to these by their backs for a little way; filaments lilac, 

 tumid in the middle, slightly concave in front, and nectariferous ; anthers 

 versatile ; pollen yellow. Pistil equal in length to the stamens, of a dull 

 purplish-green ; stigma small, terminal, villous ; style short, conical, 6-fur- 

 rowed; germen ovate, 6-furrowed, the alternate furrows hairy, 3-locular, 

 the dissepiments double, being formed by a duplicature of the inner mem- 

 brane, opposite to the hairy lines on the germen, and alternate with the 

 sutures ; ovules globular, several in each loculament, receptacle central. 



Dried specimens of this pretty little plant, which, no doubt, will bear cul- 

 tivation in a warm border in the open air, I received from my friend Dr 

 Dickson in 1831, having been gathered by him in the neighbourhood of 

 Tripoli. Among the specimens, some of the bulbs yet retained life. 

 These were planted in the stove at the Botanic Garden, Edinburgh, and 

 flowered there in November. 



Sisyrinchium macrocephalum. 



S. macrocephalum ; scapo simplici, ancipiti ; foliis omnibus radicalibus, 

 ensiformibus ; fasciculis pedunculatis, congestis, lateralibus, multifloris, 

 bractea brevioribus. 



Description Leaves {2\ feet long) all radical, linear-swordshaped. Scape 



longer than the leaves, terminated by an acute erect bractea (5 inches 

 long). Flowers in numerous fasciculi from the base of the bractea ; fas- 

 ciculi supported on short flattened peduncles, and having many imbri- 

 cated bracteae similar to the primary one, but much smaller. Pedicels tri- 

 quetrous, about as long as the secondary bracteae. Corolla (1 1 inch across 

 when expanded) C-parted, glabrous, deep yellow, segments imbricated, 

 spreading, ovato-lanceolate, tipped with a slender point, almost aristate, 

 nerved, the middle nerve larger than the others, greenish. Stamens less 

 than half the length of the corolla ; filaments monadelphous, very short, 

 diverging where free ; anthers spreading, oblong, bifid at the base ; stig- 

 mata minute ; style shorter than the stamens, trifid, segments spread 

 ing. Germen green, ebovate, trigonous, trilocular. Ovules numerous, 

 with a central receptacle. 



Raised from seed received by Mr Neill from Mr Tweedie, Buenos Ayres. 

 Flowered in the greenhouse during August and September, having fre- 

 quently many flowers expanded at a time, and forming a very handsome 

 addition to the known species. 



