ROMULEA 



THE BULB BOOK 



ROSCOEA 



Tigridias. They may be gro^vn in 

 a greenhouse or in the open air in 

 the milder parts of the Kingdom, 

 but must be protected from frost. 

 They like a compost of rich sandy 

 loam and peat, and may be increased 

 by offsets in spring ; and also by 

 seeds sown v/hen ripe, or in spring 

 in gentle heat. The following species 

 are worth notice : — 



R. flammea. — A Mexican plant 3 

 to 5 ft. high, with broad equitant 

 strongly plaited leaves, dilated and 

 sheathing at the base, and 18 to 24 

 ins. long. The drooping flowers are 

 borne in dense umbels and appear 

 about May and June, and are of a 

 bright red, the outer segments being 

 distinctly striped with deep purple 

 at the base. {Bot. Reg. 1840, t. 16 ; 

 Paxt. Mag. Bot. vii. 247.) 



The variety orthantha (once re- 

 garded as a distinct species) grows 

 about 2 ft. high, and has bright 

 scarlet flowers having a triangular 

 blotch at the base of each perianth 

 segment (7*7. d. Serr. t. 46). 



R. immaculata. — This Guatemalan 

 species is close to R. flammea, from 

 which, however, it diS'ers in being 

 only about 2 ft. high, having a more 

 slender habit, and in the scarlet 

 flowers being unspotted and having 

 a wash of yellow on the inner seg- 

 ments {Bot. Reg. 1841, t. 1 ; Fl. 

 d. Serr. tt. 502, 2215). 



ROMULBA (after Romidtis, the 

 reputed founder of Rome). Nat. 

 Ord. Iride93.— This genus contains 

 over thirty species of plants with 

 tunicated corms, bristle-like leaves, 

 and solitary flowers having a regular 

 six-parted perianth. 



About a dozen species are natives 

 of the Mediterranean region, the 

 others being found in Southern and 

 Tropical Africa. As garden plants 

 they are little known, and are con- 



fined almost entirely to botanical 

 collections. Most of the species are 

 tender and require the protection of 

 a greenhouse or cold frame. The 

 cultural requirements are the same 

 as for their relatives the Ixias — 

 which see. 



The following kinds (at one time 

 mostly knowm under the generic 

 name of Teichonema) may be 

 mentioned as worthy of note : — 

 R. hulhocodioides, flowers bright 

 yellow tinged with green outside 

 {Bot. Mag. t. 1392) ; R. Bidbocodivm, 

 flowers lilac with a yellow throat 

 {Bot. Mag. t. 265) ; R. citrina, yellow, 

 unstriped ; R. Columnce, pale lilac 

 with deeper lilac veins, tinged outside 

 with green; R. rosea, reddish -lilac 

 with a yellow throat, faintly striped 

 purple outside {Bot. Mag. t. 1225). 

 The variety jnidica has a white 

 throat {Bot. Mag. t. 1244); and 

 speciosa has larger flowers with outer 

 segments distinctly striped with black 

 {Bot. Mag. t. 1476). 



R. Maco-wani, one of the finest 

 species, with funnel-shaped flowers, 

 bright yellow at the base, unstriped, 

 but tinged with green outside {Gard. 

 Chron. 1887, i. 180, f.). 



ROSCOEA (after Wm. Roscoe, the 

 founder of the Liverpool Botanic 

 Gardens). Nat. Ord. Scitaminese. — 

 This genus contains about half a 

 dozen species of ornamental-leaved 

 herbaceous plants with thick fleshy 

 roots, and terminal spikes or clusters 

 of purple, blue, or yellow flowers, 

 having an elongated tubular calyx 

 and corolla, the latter having an 

 erect incurved and concave upper 

 segment and spreading side seg- 

 ments. 



R. gracUis, with yellow flowers, is 

 now known as Catdfeya hitea {Bot. 

 Mag. t. 6991). 



R. purpurea. — This is the best- 



409 



