CllOCUS 



THE BULB BOOK 



CUliCULlGO 



O. veluchensis. — A rare Grecian 

 Crocus, near C. vernus and C. bana- 

 ticm, from which it differs in having 

 a diphyllous i)roper spathe and no 

 basal spathe (JJot. Rey. 1847, t. 4; 

 Maw, Ci'ocns, t. 32). 



C. Veneris.— An autumnal Crocus 

 from Cretan and Cyprian mountains, 

 closely related to C. Jiorj/i. The 

 white flowers sometimes feathered 

 outside with purple, and having a 

 yellow throat, appear in November 

 {^f(^u\ Crocvs, t. 8). 



C. vemus. — This is the well-known 

 spring Crocus. It grows wild in the 

 Pyrenees, Alps, and Carpathian 

 mountains, where its blossoms appear 

 aa late as June and July. In the 

 British Islands, however, they peep 

 through the ground as early as 

 February and March, and are various 

 shades of lilac, violet, and white (but 

 never or very rarely yellow), variously 

 veined and striped with other colours. 

 (Bed. Lil. t.'266 ] Maw, Crocus, t. 26.) 



Fio. 108 — Crocus Vi:rnus ohnvatiis. (J.) 



The garden forms which have arisen 

 from this species within the past 

 three hundred years or so vary in 

 colour from pure white to grey, lilac, 

 violet, and purple, many being beauti- 

 fully veined and streaked Avith other 

 colours. Some distinct forms are 

 allnfioyits, white ; (Seonje Maw, pure 

 white with a bright orange tip to the 

 three outer segments ; leurorhynrhvs 

 (know as Pheasant's Feather), pale 

 purple or soft lavender, with purple 



veins and a dark purple blotch at the 

 base ; siculns, creamy white with a 

 few purple veins ; ohovatui<, with 

 beautifully feathered veins (Fig. 108) ; 

 and Icucostirpna, rich purple with 

 white stigmata. For the varieties 

 with fancy names, the reader is 

 advised to consult a current bulb 

 catalogue. 



C. versicolor (C. fi'arjrans). — This 

 beautiful species from the Maritime 

 Alps flowers in February and March, 

 and varies from purple to white, 

 more or less feathered and veined 

 with purple on the outer surface of 

 the inner as well as the outer seg- 

 ments {Bot. Mat/, t. 1110). The 

 variety ohscuratus has deep lilac 

 blossoms shaded and feathered with 

 deep purple ; rejlexus is soft lilac 

 witli deeper veins ; and jncturatus, 

 pure white, veined with rich crimson. 



C. vitellinus (C. syriacus). — A 

 handsome (Syrian Crocus, having 

 bright orange - yellow flowers with 

 orange-scarlet stigmata, which appear 

 from November to March {Hot. Mag. 

 t. 6416: Ma%v, Crocus, t. 50). The 

 variety graveolens has smaller orange- 

 coloured flowers. Hushed or striped 

 with black, and remarkable for their 

 strong and somewhat disagreeable 

 odour. 



C zonatus.— A beautiful autumnal 

 Crocus found wild on the mountains 

 of S. Europe to Asia Minor. The 

 flowers appear in September and 

 October, and are rosy-lilac veined 

 with purple, the bearded throat being 

 l)right yellow and the tube pale buff. 

 (Maw, Crocus, t. 4.) 



CURCULIGO (rvrcuh'o, a weevil ; in 

 reference to the j)oint or beak on 

 the seeds). Nat. Ord. Amaryllidea^. 

 — A genus containing about a 

 dozen species of stove, perennial, 

 her])aceous plants having short 

 rhizomes, or thickish and more or less 



174 



