166 TRANSACTIONS AND PROCEEDINGS OF THE [Sess. lv. 



XOTE ON THE PROLONGATION OF THE FLOWERING PERIOD 



OF Tritonia (Montbretia) Wilsoni, Baker. By John H. 

 Wilson, D.Sc, F.RS.E. 



This Tritonia was found near Port-Elizabeth, Cape 

 Colony, by my brother Mr Alexander Wilson. Nothing 

 need be added to Mr Baker's description of it in the 

 Gardeners' Chronicle, vol. xxvi., 1886, p. 38, beyond this, 

 that the tlowers have a very pleasant but not powerful 

 odour. 



The plant is very accommodating as far as pot-culture 

 goes, and it is not at all difficult to raise from home-saved 

 seed. Pollination of one flower with another of the same 

 series is remarkably successful. The stock being still small, 

 the species has not yet been distributed. It may be stated 

 that persistent efforts were made to effect reciprocal crosses 

 with Montbretia Pottsii in September of last year, but with- 

 out success on either side. Possibly the season was too far 

 advanced. 



The inflorescence commonly consists either of a single 

 shoot or of one once branched. In the case now noticed 

 the inflorescence exhibited unusual development. When 

 the first flower opened on 4th September 1890, the inflores- 

 cence was composed of an axial shoot bearing eight flowers, 

 and a branch with five flowers, the first of the latter opening 

 on the 13th September. The branch, as usual, arose from 

 between two bract-leaves (spathe-valves), the larger one, on 

 the outside, overlapping the smaller. The flowering-period of 

 this inflorescence extended over many weeks. Before it was 

 finished, there appeared a new shoot three inches below the 

 bifurcation of the former. The new one was subtended by 

 two bracts, one much larger than the other, and forked into 

 two — a main axis without bracts, and a branch with two. 

 The stronger portion reached the same height as tlie first 

 main shoot (two feet) ; and bore nine flowers, while the 

 branch bore four. The last flower of this series was open 

 about the 6th JJecendjer. Although the above-described 

 flower-shoots faded, the vitality of the central axis was not 

 impaired, and on the 5th April of this year the first flower 



