LIFE-HISTORY AND PHYSIOLOGY. q 



The leaves in the great majority of species appear with the flowers, but in 

 eleven autumn-flowering- species, viz: C. iridiflorus, C. vallicola, C. Scharojani, C. 

 zonatus, C. karduchorum, C. nudiflorus, C. granatensis, C. medius, C. cancellatus, C. 

 speciosus, and C. pulchellus, the leaves are in a dormant condition, barely half an inch 

 (0.013 Metre) long at the flowering time, and remain hidden within the sheathing- 

 leaves till the ensuing spring. In all the other species the leaves appear at the 

 flowering time: in some they are well developed before the flowers appear, and in 

 other species they are only just visible beyond the sheathing-leaves. 



The leaves of every species continue to grow after the flowering time up to 

 the maturity of the new corm, when they attain a length of from eight or nine 

 inches (0.225 Metre) to two feet (0.600 Metre), and in width they vary from one 

 twentieth of an inch (0.0012 Metre) to half an inch (0.013 Metre). 



The leaves of nearly all the species die away in June or July; but in two, C. 

 Scharojani (Plate III) and C. karduchorum (Plate V), they last on till the ensuino- 

 flowering time in the autumn: the leaves of two years' growth existing contempo- 

 raneously, though the younger set is hidden within the sheathing-leaves. 



The number of the leaves in different species varies considerably. In C. medius 

 (Plate XXVII, fig. 2,) rarely more than two, or at most three or four are produced; 

 in several species there are as many as ten or twelve to a corm ; species with broad 

 leaves have fewer than those in which the leaves are narrow. 



Scape. The ascending axis from the corm summit to the base of the ovary 

 is either triquetrous, or tetraquetrous; varying from a quarter of an inch (0.013 Metre) 

 to an inch (0.025 Metre) or two inches (0.050 Metre) at the flowering time, lengthening 

 out rapidly as the capsule matures, so as to bring it above the ground from five to 

 six inches (0.150 Metre) from the summit of the corm. As a rule the scapes of those 

 species which are shortest at the time of flowering attain the greatest height at the 

 maturity of the capsule. 



In some species, e.g. C. nudiflorus (Plate VI), but one scape and flower is 

 produced within each set of sheathing-leaves; but generally there are two or more 

 scapes. The scape is never branching, and never carries more than one flower. 



Spathes. The Spathe (Plate A, fig. 7), or foliaceous appendages to the ascending 

 axis, form two distinct series; those springing from the base of the scape, and those 

 springing from the base of the ovary. The former, termed the basal spathe by 

 Baker, is not always present; and the presence or absence of a basal spathe 

 determined Herbert, in his classification of the genus, to divide it into Involucrati, 

 and Nudiflori. Of the Nudiflori the great majority are vernal species; and most of 

 the Involucrati are autumnal. The basal spathe is a membranous tube, springing 

 from the base of, and enclosing the scape, and reaching just above the ovary. A 

 basal spathe sometimes encloses several scapes; but occasionally there is a separate 



c 



