1921-22.] BOTANICAL SOCIETY OF EDINBURGH 123 



It would perhaps be too much to expect that in such a 

 critical group as the Lilies we should all be in accord as 

 regards our views, but I think I ma}' safely say that our 

 points of agreement are many and our points of disagree- 

 ment comparatively few. The present notes express the 

 views taken by Mr. Forrest and myself on the species we 

 have ventured to discuss. The abundant literature on the 

 genus Lilium is almost in itself an index of the numerous 

 difficulties botanists have found in coming to definite 

 conclusions regarding the distinctness of the individual 

 species. The Chinese Lilies are no exception, and present 

 many difficulties. The number of species described has 

 increased very considerably since 1884 when Mr. Elwes, 

 at the International Botanical Congress at St. Petersburg, 

 cited only ten species, of which three were doubtful, as 

 being indigenous to China and Tibet. Franchet in his 

 paper (Journal de Botanique, vi, 1892, p. 305) on the Lilies 

 of China and Tibet in the herbarium of the Paris Museum 

 more than doubled that number. And since 1892 many 

 more have been added. In his paper Franchet gives a 

 key to the Chinese species, as understood by him, and 

 lays stress on the character of the nectariferous furrow. 

 I have found that character of the greatest service. He 

 gives also two Avarnings which are worthy of repetition. 

 The first deals with the original description of the Chinese 

 and Japanese Lilies : — 



" L'etude des especes du genre Lis a ete rendue tres 

 difficile, au moins pour celles qui sont d'origine chinoise 

 ou japonaise, par la multiplicite de leurs formes dans les 

 cultures. En eff'et, contrairement a ce qui se passe d'ordi- 

 naire, ou Ton voit les formes spontanees decrites les 

 premieres, c'est-a-dire avant toute modification due a 

 I'intervention de I'homme, il est arrive que beaucoup de 

 Lis ont ete decrits d'apres des individus cultives ; ces Lis 

 sont, pour la plupart, reellement originaires de la region 

 qu'on leur assigne pour patrie, mais ils ont ete presque 

 tons trouves par les importateurs dans les jardins, ou ils 

 avaient prealablement subi des modifications plus ou moins 

 profondes. Or on sait que les jardiniers chinois et japonais 

 sont passe maitres dans I'art de transformer les plantes." 



