NAT. ORDER. LlLIACE.ffi. lOo 



by the withered, wrinkled bulb of (he preceding }ear, as if in a 

 case; tlie stem varies in heiglit, sometimes six, and sometimes even 

 eighteen inches high, and still advancing a considerable after flower- 

 ing ; it comes out from the side of the root, is simple, upright, round, 

 smooth, glaucous, and very often of a purple color ; the leaves from 

 three to six, grass-like, distantly alternate; half embracing, round on 

 the under, and hollow on the upper side, somewhat twisted and 

 glaucous ; the flower usually single, sometimes two, or even three 

 on the top of the stem, large, pendulous, at first somewhat pyramidal, 

 but afterwards bell-form, chequered with purple and white, or purple 

 and greenish yellow. It is a native of southern countries of Europe, 

 and flowers in April and May. 



There are numerous varieties of this : the Common Purple, the 

 Blood Red, the White, the Great Purple Red, the Double Blush, the 

 Purple Yellow, the Chequered Yellow, the Great Yellow Italian, 

 the Small Italian, the small Portugal Yellow, the Black, and the 

 Spanish Black. 



Fiitillaiia pyrcnaica. Black Fritillary. This species has a 

 double, fleshy bulbous root ; the leaves are broader, and of a deeper 

 green than in the first ; the lower leaves are opposite, but those 

 above alternate; the stem is from one to two feet high, terminated 

 by two flowers of an obscure yellow color, and spreading more at 

 the brim than those of the first, but turned downwards in the same 

 manner. It flowers in the latter part of May, and is a native of 

 France. 



Fritillaria Persica. Persian Lily. This species has a large, 

 round root ; the stem ri.ses about three feet high, the lower part 

 closely garnished on every side with leaves, which are about three 

 inches long and half an inch in breadth, of a grey color, and twisted 

 obliquely ; the flowers are in a loose spike at the top, forming a pyr- 

 amid, shorter than the other sorts, spreading wider at the brim, and 

 not bent down, of a dark purple color, appearing in May. They 

 have not been known to produce seeds in this country. 



