EARLY SPRING-FLOWERING SPECIES OF SCILLA. 337 
not to be depended on. This plant may be the plant spoken of by 
Parkinson as “ Hyacinthus stellatus precoz flore suave rubente, the early 
blush-coloured starry Jacinth,” which, he continues, “is very rare, but 
very pleasant, his flowers being as large as the first of this last kinde 
(that above alluded to as S. bifolia, precoz), and somewhat larger than 
the blush of the other kinde (S. bifolia, carnea) ; the leaves and rootes 
differ not from the last-recited Jacinth." We believe Regel's var. 
Taurica is the same plant with blue flowers, but have had no means of 
confirming or refuting this opinion. 
d. Scilla bifolia, var. alba, Kunth, Enum. iv. 316. 
Differs from the type only in its white flowers. Parkinson says of 
this :—“ The buddes for flowers at the first appeare a little blush, 
which when they are blowne are white, but yet retaine in them a small 
shew of that blush colour.” He goes on to say :—“ We have another 
whose flowers are pure white, and smaller than the other, the leaves 
whereof are of a pale fresh greene, and somewhat narrower.” This 
latter is the commoner variation of the two. 
e. Scilla bifolia, var. candida. 
We propose this name for a pure white-flowered variety, the flowers 
of which are as large as those of our S. bifolia, precoz, or of the var. 
rosea, of which indeed it might be considered as the white-flowered 
representative, but that it flowers later. It is perhaps the H. stellatus 
precoz flore albo of Parkinson. 
9. SCILLA Srpretca, Andr. Bot. Rep. t. 365 (1804); Kunth, 
Enum. iv. p. 318; Van Houtte, Flore des Serres, xvi. t. 1677. 8. 
amoena, Redouté, Lil. t. 130. S. amoena, B. Sibirica, Bot. Mag. 1025 
(1807); S. cernua, Redouté, Lil. adnot. ad fol. 298, nec tab. (1809); 
nec Hoffm. et Link; Regel, * Gartenflora, 1865, p. 322, t. 488. 
S. azurea, Goldb. ex Kunth, l.c. S. uniflora, Willd. Herb. S. praecox, 
Donn, Hort. Cantab. (?) mec Wilid.—Bulb roundish, the size of a 
chestnut, with a dark rind, giving off four or more erect, or somewhat 
spreading, flat, strap-shaped leaves, slightly thickened at the point ; 
common flower-stalks one or two, flattened, striated, scarcely so long 
as the leaves. Flowers 2-4 or even 6, rarely solitary, on short stalks, 
horizontal or nodding, bell-shaped, ultimately spreading widely, of a 
pale clear blue colour, rather more intense along the central nerves of 
each segment of the perianth. : 
The list of synonyms will show the confusion that has reigned as 
VOL. VI. [NOVEMBER 1, 1868.] Z 
