LEUCOJUM 



THE BULB BOOK 



LEUCOJUM 



LEUCOJUM (leuios, white ; ton, a 

 violet ; referring to the colour and 

 fragrance of the llowers), Sxowflake. 

 Xat. Ord. Amaryllidea;. — A genus 

 containing nine species of ornamental 

 herbs having tunicated bulbs, narrow 

 strap-shaped leaves, and large broadly 

 bell-shaped, snowdrop-like blossoms. 



The Snowliakes flourish in ordinary- 

 garden soil of a rich and sandy nature, 

 and once planted may be left to look 

 after themselves. To be effective they 

 should be massed in bold clumps in 

 the rockery, or border, or between 

 deciduous shrubs. They are readily 

 increased by offsets, which should be 

 detached after the leaves have 

 withered. The following species are 

 good garden plants : — 



Ij. aestivum. — This free - growing 

 species, popularly known as the 

 '" Summer Snowllake,'" is widely dis- 



tributed over Central and S. Europe 

 from Britain and France to the 

 Crimea, being foxmd in wet meadows 

 and osier beds in the south-eastern 

 parts of England. The egg-shaped 

 bulbs are 1 to U ins. through, and 

 give rise to bluntly strap-shaped 

 leaves 12 to IS ins. long. The droop- 

 ing pure white tiowers, about 1 in. 

 long, are tipped with green, and 

 appear from the end of April to the 



end of May. (Jiot. Mag. t. 1210; 

 Red.LU.t.\zb.) 



Ij. autnmnale {Acts autumnaUs). — 

 This species is found wild from 

 Portugal and Morocco to the Ionian 

 Islands. The roundish bulbs are 

 only about i in. thick, and the slender 

 thread-like leaves are usually pro- 

 duced after the flowers have withered 

 in August and September. The 

 blossoms are white tinted with pink, 

 the segments being five- to seven- 

 veined. {Bot. Mag. t. 960.) The 

 variety cephalonica has a two-valved 

 spathe instead of a single linear one ; 

 and the variety pulcheUinn produces 

 its white pendulous flowers at the 

 same time as the leaves. Tender. 



L. hyemale (A<:i$ hiemalis). — A 

 native of S. France, \vith small romid 

 bidbs and narrow leaves about 1 ft. 

 long at the same time as the tiowex-s. 

 These are white tinged with green 

 outside, and appear in April, and not 

 in winter as the name hifemale would 

 indicate, (^o^ J/tif^r. t. 6711.) 



L. longifollmn {Acis Jongifolia). — 

 This grows wild at an altitude of 

 4503 to 6000 ft., on the Corsican 

 ^lountains. It has small brown- 

 coated bulbs, very slender, flaccid 

 thread-like leaves 6 to 12 ins. long, 

 and small white flowers J to i in. 

 long in Aj-ril and May. 



Ij. pulchelluni {L. Hernandezi). — 

 A native of Sardinia and the Balearic 

 Isles, closely related to L. orsfivum, 

 from which it differs chiefly in having 

 narrower leaves and smaller flowers 

 somewhat later in the season. Fig. 

 ■2-2A. 



L. roseum (Act's rosea).- A small- 

 bulbed Corsican plant with thread- 

 like leaves after the flowers, and rosy- 

 red blossoms ^ in. long, in September 

 and October (Stc. Brit. Fl. Gard. 

 t. 297). 



Ij. trichophyllum (Act's tficho- 

 pht/lla).—A. pretty little plant from 



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