ISOLOMA 



THE BULB BOOK 



IXIA 



finest garden forms of the Spanish 

 Iris, and all are worth growing : — 



Adelina Fatti, deep bronze ; 

 Sappho, splendid bronze ; Affiles, 

 blue, very fine ; Alexander V. Hum- 

 boldt, deep blue ; Formosa, dark 

 blue ; Leoaidas, dark violet-blue ; 

 Louise, lilac-blue, very large, extra 

 fine; Athalia, pure white; Blanche 

 Superhe, pure white, dwarf; British 

 Queen, pure white ; La Fame Blanche, 

 pure white, dwarf ; La Neige, pure 

 white, large ; Mont Blanc, pure 

 white, dwarf ; Iklle Chinoise, very 

 fine yellow ; Ghrysolora, very fine 

 bright yellow ; I^eander, deep yellow, 

 very large, scented ; Ovidius, clear 

 pale yellow ; Frincess May, yellow 

 Avith bluish centre ; William the 

 First, golden-yellow. 



ISOLOMA {isos, equal ; loma, a 

 border ; the corolla lobes being equal). 

 Nat. Ord. Gesneracese. — This genus 

 contains about sixty species of warm- 

 house herbaceous plants closely related 

 to the Achimenes and Gesnera, and 

 resembling the first-named in having 

 scaly or catkin-like rhizomes. The 

 leaves are opposite, and usually 

 densely clothed with soft velvety 

 hairs. The fiowers are tubular, 

 resembling the Achimenes in form 

 and size. The plants formerly known 

 under the name of Tyd^a now belong 

 to this genus. For cultural details 

 see Achimenes and Gesnera. 



The following species may be noted. 

 They are all natives of Tropical 

 America, ranging from Bolivia and 

 Peru to Mexico :— 



I. amabile. — This grows about 1 ft. 

 high, has greenish-purple stems, and 

 large deep rose fiowers {Jtot. Mag. t. 

 4999). 



I. bogotense {AcJiimencs pirta). — 

 This grows 1 to -1 ft. high, and has 

 drooping yellow flowers, red above 



and striped and dotted with red 

 inside {Bot. Mag. t. 4126). 



I. Deppeanum {Gesnera elongata). — 

 Height 2 to 3 ft., with orange-red 

 fiowers in velvety umbels {Bot. Mag. 

 t. 3725). 



I. erianthum. — A handsome erect 

 plant from Colombia, 2 to 4 ft. high, 

 with underground scaly rhizomes, and 

 thick stems and leaves covered with 

 soft brownish hairs. Leaves ovate 

 lance-shaped, with stalks 4 to 6 ins. 

 long. Flowers orange-red or cinnabar, 

 velvety, drooping, borne in clusters 

 in the axils of the upper leaves. 

 {Bot. Mag. t. 7907.) 



I. hondense. — A f ree - fiowering 

 species about 1 ft. high, with yellow 

 fiowers {Bot. Mag. t. 4217). 



Other species equally beautiful and 

 interesting, and mostly having red or 

 yellow fiowers, are — I. longifolium, 

 orange-red ; I. molle, red {Bot. Mag. 

 t. 3815); I. ocellatum, bright red 

 {Bot. Mag. t. 4359) ; I. pictum, scarlet 

 {Bot. Mag. tt. 4126, 4431); I. Schie- 

 deanum, scarlet {Bot. Mag. t. 4152) ; I. 

 Seemanni, bright brick-red {Bot. Mag. 

 t. 4504) ; I. triflorum, yellow {Bot. 

 Mag. t. 4342); and I. tubiflora, 

 yellow, tinted with red. 



I. hypocyrtiflorum, formerly known 

 as Gloxinia. This species has orange- 

 red almost globular fiowers. {Bot. 

 Mag. t. 5655.) 



IXIA {ixia, bird-lime ; in reference 

 to the sticky juice). Nat. Ord. Iridese. 

 — A genus of South African herbs 

 with smooth or fibrous-coated bulbs 

 or corms, and erect, strongly-veined, 

 sword-shaped leaves. Flowers with 

 a funnel-shaped or salver-shaped 

 perianth, borne on slender spikes. 



Ixias are closely related to Spar- 

 axis, Babiana, and Ti'itonia, but difl'er 

 structurally in details. They are 

 elegant plants of fairly easy growth, 

 but unfortunately are not hardy 



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