148 ENGLISH BOTANY. 
tuber perishing after flowering. Stem cylindrical, shorter than the 
leaves, simple. Leaves appearing in winter and dying off in early 
summer, very long, slender, sharply quadrangular, tapering to the 
point, dull glaucous green, dim. Spathe terminal, elongate, acuminate, 
herbaceous, with an extremely narrow scarious margin. Flowers 
solitary. Pedicel much longer than the ovary when the flower is 
expanded. Free portion of the perianth tube narrowly cylindrical, 
shorter than the ovary. Sepals oblong-oblanceolate, the claw broad, 
slightly folded, erect, constricted where it is joined to the lamina; 
lamina much shorter and scarcely broader than the claw, oval, notched 
at the apex, sharply reflexed, not bearded. Petals about one-third 
the length of the sepals, and half the length of the stigmas, erect, 
lanceolate-spathulate, acuminated into a very slender point. Capsule 
1-celled, oblong-fusiform, bluntly trigonous, with six furrows. Seeds 
subglobular, when dry with a hard fuscous reticulated testa and a 
small whitish strophiole at the hilum. 
In orchards and hedgebanks. Not native, but said to be naturalised 
in Cornwall and South Devon. The specimen figured in “ English 
Botany Suppl.” was sent by the Rev. Henry Pennick from Penzance, 
who found the plant in considerable plenty in several places four or 
five miles apart in that neighbourhood: Mr. F. P. Pascoe assured me 
it was quite naturalised in that part of Cornwall; and Mr. T. B. 
Flower has specimens from Kingsbridge, S. Devon, obtained by him 
in 1860, when the plant was in some abundance there. It is reported 
from Cork ; but in the “ Flora of Cork” it is said to be not even natu- 
ralised there. 
[England, Ireland?] Perennial. Spring. 
Rootstock a cormo-tuber about the thickness of a man’s finger, 1} 
to 3 inches long, frequently dividing from the base into two or three 
branches, from the extremity of each of which a stem or tuft of leaves 
is sent up: close to the apical bud lateral buds are produced, and in 
autumn the parent tuber dies away, setting free the tubers produced 
from these buds either separately or connected together at the base. 
Flowering stem 9 inches to 1 foot high, sheathed at the base, and pro- 
ducing from the axils of the sheaths several very long tetragonal leaves 
sheathing at the base, and about twice as long as the flowering stem. 
Spathe longer than the pedicels, and frequently exceeding the flower. 
Flowers 1} to 2 inches across, remarkable for the claws of the sepals 
being connivent, and nearly erect. Claw of the sepals pale green, 
vellowish on the back, with a few dark veins ; lamina dull lurid blue, 
almost black. Petals greenish-white. Stigmas nearly erect, with the 
lobes acuminate. Seeds rather larger than sweet-pea seeds; but I have 
only scen them in a dried condition. 
