HEDYCHIUM 



THE BULB BOOK 



HEDYCHIUM 



the under slightly silky. The hand- 

 some sweet-scented flowers appear in 

 autumn, being pale yellow and pure 

 white with red filaments. {Bot. 

 Mag. t. 2969.) 



H. angustifollum. — This is now 

 considered to be a variety of //. 

 cocci ileum. It grows 3 to 6 ft. high, 

 and has smooth, narrow, lance- 

 shaped leaves, a foot or more long 

 and 1 to 2 ins. broad. The small red 

 or scarlet flowers appear from about 

 June to August {Bot. Mag. t. 2078). 

 This species has been crossed with //. 

 G'ardn(ria7iin/i, and has produced a 

 good garden hybrid. 



H. carneum.—A plant 3 to 4 ft. 

 high, with slender pointed leaves over 

 1 ft. long, and flesh-coloured scentless 

 flowers about July and August (Bot. 

 Mag. t. 2637). 



H. chrysoleucum. — A pretty species 

 about 5 ft. high, having sweet-scented 

 pure white flowers blotched with 

 orange on the lip and having deep 

 orange filaments (Bot. Mag. t. 4516). 



H. coronariuin.— This was the first 

 species of the genus introduced from 

 the East Indies in 1791. It grows 

 about 5 ft. high, and has lance-shaped 

 sheathing leaves, smooth above, 

 downy beneath. The large pure 

 white sweet-scented flowers appear 

 from May to August, and are remark- 

 able for the great size of the lip. 

 (Bot. Mag. t. 70S; Lodd. Bot. Cab. 

 t. 507 ; Hed. Lil. viii. t. 436.) 



The variety flavum is a dwarf er 

 plant with bright orange flowers {Bot. 

 Mag. t. 2039). 



H. ellipticum.— A Nepalese species, 

 3 to 5 ft. high, having broadly lance- 

 shaped almost elliptic leaves. The 

 flowers appear about August and 

 September, the outer segments being 

 yellow, the inner ones pure white 

 with a deeply cleft lip. {Lodd. Bot. 

 Cab. t. 1881 ; Gartenjt. t. 1201 ; 

 Roscoe, Scit. t. 55.) 



H. Elwesi. — A Himalayan species 

 closely related to //. coronarmm, but 

 distinguished from that species by 

 having larger bracts and rich golden- 

 yellow flowers {Card. Chron. 1894, 

 xvi. 152). 



H. Gardnerianuni. — This magnifi- 

 cent species has been in cultivation 

 since 1819. It grows 3 to 6 ft. high, 

 and has smooth, broadly lance- 

 shaped, stem-clasping leaves in two 

 rows. The large sweet-scented lemon- 

 yellow flowers appear during the 

 summer months in erect cylindrical 

 spikes, 12 to 18 ins. long {Bot. Keg. 

 t. 774 ; Bot. Mag. t. 6913). Garden 

 hybrids have been obtained by cross- 

 ing //. Cardnerianum with //. co)V)i- 

 arium, one called //. Wilkeanuvb 

 being described in the Card. Chron. 

 1894, xvi. 276. Another called Moorei 

 is described in 1900, xxviii. 142. 



H. gracile. —This species comes 

 from the Sikkim Himalayas and 

 -Khasia mountains, and grows 2 to 3 

 ft. high. The sharp-pointed leaves 

 are 6 to 9 ins. long and 2 to 3 ins. 

 broad, narrowed into a stalk at the 

 base, and the white flowers with red 

 filaments appear during the summer 

 and autumn. {Bot. Mag. t. 6638.) 

 There is a variety called glaucmn. 



H. peregrinum. — A native of 

 Madagascar, 3 to 5 ft. high, with 

 elliptic-pointed leaves rounded at the 

 base, and clear yellowish-green flowers 

 with a white lip and pale brown bracts. 



H. speciosum.— A native of Sylhet, 

 having oblong lance-shaped leaves, 

 and pale sulphur - yellow flowers 

 borne on spikes 6 to 12 ins, long 

 {Plant. As. Rar. iii. t. 285). 



H. spicatum. — This species grows 

 about 3 ft. high, and has linear lance- 

 shaped leaves, smooth above, downy 

 beneath, and clusters of white sweet- 

 scented flowers washed with rose, the 

 broad lip being deeply cleft {Bot. 

 Mag. t. 2300). 



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