V 



BOT.-VOL. II.] PURDY—CALOCHORTUS. I4I 



30a. C. venustus var. roseus, The Garden, Oct. 12, 1895. 

 The typical form described above is known as var. rosetcs, 

 or C. roseus. 

 / 2pb. C. venustus var. eldorado, var. nov. Differs from var. roseus in 

 having the more cuneate petals always narrower than long. Found in all 

 colors from white through lilac to purple, from pink through many shades to 

 deep claret, with or without rose-colored blotch near the top of petal. The 

 plants are stout, usually tall (1-2 feet), branching, and large flowered. 



C. f ictus (The Garden, Oct. 12, 1895) is merely a white 



form of the above variety. 



,/ 30c. C. venustus var. purpurascens^ , The Garden, Oct. 12, 1895. 

 ^ This is a strong growing variety, like the type but taller; flowers lilac to 

 purple, petals oculated and more leafy, but without the rose-colored blotch. 

 The plants are very bulbiferous, producing 1-4 bulblets a year, which scatter 

 as do those of C vesta; they are not enclosed in a stem sheath. 



Found growing in adobe (heavy clay) soils, from San 

 Luis Obispo County to Suisun Bay, California. 



^ 2,od. C. venustus var. sutphureus, var. nov. As in the preceding, like 

 the type but taller; petals a light, warm yellow, with eye in center, and rose- 

 colored blotch at top. 



Occurs at Newhall and Alcalde (Kern County), in the 

 lower end of the San Joaquin Valley. 



C. venustus is as widely scattered as C. luteus, and has 

 many strains, some local, others widely spread. There are 

 two principal strains. One commences in the Coast Range 

 at Antioch (Contra Costa County) and extends southward 

 into the interior or dryer portion of the Coast Range to Los 

 Angeles County. 



The type described, as found from Antioch to Paso 

 Robles, always has a rose-colored blotch at the top of the 

 petal. In this strain the petals are broader than long, giving 

 a very full flower. At Paso Robles there is a break, and 

 we find a wonderful variety of color forms, from white to 

 purple, and from pink to deep red, always with a rose 



1 The original C. venustus purpurascens Watson was described from specimens irom 

 Kern County, in the southern Sierras, and is without doubt only the purple extreme 

 of the El Dorado strain. The name has for years been used for a purple variety of the 

 Coast Range form, which is distinct iu everyway. As the latter is perfectly distinct, 

 with features by which it can be readily identified, and the former is a mere color 

 extreme, occurring usually with other colors, the rule of priority could, I think, be 

 shaded a little, and the name be used for the Coast Range type. 



