This splendid though curious plant was last year introduced 

 from Mexico into this country. The rich orange-coloured 

 petals, studded with dark-crimson irregular spots in the cup, 

 will certainly cause it to be ranked for beauty at least on a 

 par with, if not superior to, the T. pavonia^ which has long 

 been an acknowledged favourite. In groups, these flowers 

 will give considerable splendour to the garden ; singly, their 

 beauty might be lost : intermixed groups of the two species 

 would have a truly brilliant appearance. These two bulbs are 

 alike hardy, and produce their fleeting blossoms about the 

 same season, from the beginning of July until late in the au- 

 tumn. Were it not for a succession of bloom, the Tigridia, 

 notwithstanding its beauty, would fail to excite the interest 

 of the botanist or the amateur ; for the flowers no sooner ex- 

 pose themselves to view, than they begin to fade : a sultry 

 day shortens the showy reign of this ephemeral flower to a few 

 hours ; its transitory existence impresses the beholder with 

 regret, who cannot 



" unpitying see the flowery race. 



Shed by the morn, their new-flushed bloom resign 

 Before the parching beam." 



This plant may be increased in the same manner as T. pa- 

 vonia, by seeds and by roots : the bulbs flower much better if 

 forwarded in pots ere they be planted out. In the autumn they 

 should be taken out of the ground and placed in a dry and 

 airy situation, and protected against frost. 



The r. oxypetala has this season flowered and perfected its 

 seeds at the nursery of Messrs. Allen and Rogers, King's 

 Road, from whence the drawing of the present figure was 

 made. 



