NAT. ORDER. 



Liliaceon. 



FKITILLARIA IMPERIALIS. CROWIS IMPERIAL, 



Class VI. IIexandria. Order I. Monogynia. 



Ge7i. Char. Caly.v none. Corolla six-petalcd, bell-shaped, and 

 spreading at the base. Petals oblong, parallel. Slainciis have 

 six subulate filaments approximating to the style. 



Spe. Char. Anthers quadrangular, oblong, erect. Pist'dl an oblong 

 germ, three-cornered. Stigma triple, spreading blunt. Sfxjle 

 trifid, with three stigmas. Seeds many, flat, in a double row. 



This plant belongs to a genus comprising those of the bulbous- 

 rooted kinds, and of a flowering nature. The root of this p/a?i^ is 

 large, round, scaly, bulbous, of a yellow color, and a strong, foxy 

 odor; the stalk rises to the height of four or five feet; it is strong, 

 succulent, and garnished two-thirds of the length on every side with 

 long, narrow leaves, ending in points, which are smooth and entire ; 

 the upper part of the stalk is naked about a foot in length ; thejloic- 

 ers come out all around the stalk upon short foot-stalks, which turn 

 downward, each sustaining one large flower ; above these rises a 

 spreading tuft of green leaves, which are erect, and called the coma. 

 It flowers in the beginning of April, and the seeds ripen in July. 



The chief varieties are : those with yellow flowers ; with large 

 flowers ; and with double flowers ; but that which has two or three 

 whorls of flowers, above all others, makes the most beautiful appear- 

 ance, though it seldom produces its flowers after this manner the first 

 year after removing. 



Fritillaria Mcleagris. Chequered Lily. In this species the root is 

 a solid bulb or tuber, about the size of a hazle-nut, white or yellow- 

 ish-white, roundish, compressed, divisible intc several, and inclosed 



Vol. iv.— lot 



