125 



^Jstract. 



ON THE LIFE-HISTORY OF A CROCUS AND THE CLASSL 

 FICATION AND GEOGRAPHICAL DISTRIBUTION OF THE 

 GENUS. 



By G. Maw, F.L.S. 



(Concluded from p. 90.) 



In attempting a natural grouping of the species, a difficulty 

 presents itself in the large number of well-marked characters which, 

 as it were, interlace and overlap ; community of character of one 

 organ bringing together a different set of species to those that 

 would be associated by the common characters of another organ. 

 The author referred to Haworth's first attempt at classification, by 

 the presence or absence of a bearded throat, to Dean Herbert's 

 classification, by the spathes and corm-tunics, and to Baker's more 

 recent system, based on the structure of the stigmata, and insisted 

 on the necessity of viewing the whole of the characters in common 

 before anything like a natural system of arrangement could be 

 arrived at. Dean Herbert's system, with some slight modification, 

 was preferred by the author, who groups the species as follows : — 



Division I. — Involuckati. 



Species with a basal s^^athe springing at the base of the scape from 



the summit of the corm. 



Section I. Fibro-membranacei — with a corm-tunic of membranous 

 tissue interspersed with nearly parallel fibres. 



Autumn Flowerimj. 



1. hidiflorus 6. nudiflorus 10. Clusii 



2. vallicola 66. granatensis 11. ochroleucus 



3. Scharojani 7. asturicus 12. lazicus 



4. zonatus. 8. serotinus 13. Cambessedesii 



5. karduchorum 9. Salzmannii 



14. Imperati 



15. suaveolens 



16. versicolor 



Section II. Beticulati- 



21. cor sic us 



22. etruscus 



27. medius 



28. longiflorus 



Spring Floiveriny. 



17. Bihottii 



18. Malyi 



19. minimus 

 (20. Boissieri?) 



-with a corm-tunic of distinctly reticulated 

 fibres. 



Spring Flowering. 



23. montenegrinus 



24. banaticus 



Autumn Flowering. 

 29. sativus and sub- 

 species allied to 

 sativus 



25. Tommasinianus 



26. vernus 



30, hadriaticus 



