4 22 



CROCUS. 



THE ENGLISH FLOWER GARDEN. 



CROCUS. 



featherings. Although perfectly hardy, it 

 is not robust enough for gardens. C. 

 suaveolens is also closely allied to C. 

 Imperati, and flowers in February. The 

 flowers are somewhat smaller and the 

 segments more acute than in C. Imperati. 

 It is hardy and free-flowering, and under 

 bright sunshine is a good ornament to the 

 early spring garden. 



C. IRIDIFLORUS. The Banat and Tran- 

 sylvania. Bears in September and Octo- 

 ber bright purple flowers before the leaves. 

 Remarkable for purple stigmata and the 

 marked difference between the size of the 

 inner and the outer segments of the 

 perianth. This beautiful plant should be 

 secured if possible. It is often sold as 

 C. byzantinus. 



C. L^VIGATUS. A pretty species from 

 the mountains of Greece and the Cyclades. 

 The flowers vary from white to lilac, being 

 distinctly feathered with purple markings. 

 Its usual flowering time is from the end of 

 October to Christmas, but through the 

 winter to March under cultivation. It 

 does not flower freely in cultivation, and, 

 like the allied species, it is seen to best 

 advantage under a cold frame. 



C. LONGIFLORUS. Abundant in the 

 south of Italy, Sicily, and Malta ; flowers 

 in October. The flowers are light purple, 

 yellow at the throat. In general aspect 

 it somewhat resembles C. sativus, especi- 

 ally in the stigmata, which are usually 

 bright scarlet and entire, but occasionally 

 broken up into fine capillary divisions. 

 In Sicily the stigmata are collected from 

 the wild plant for saffron. It is free- 

 flowering and very ornamental. 



C. MARATHONISIUS. One of the finest 

 white-flowered autumn Crocuses ; slightly 

 tinged with yellow at the base. It comes 

 into flower late in October and continues 

 well into November. The plant is fully 

 6 or 7 inches high. 



C. MEDIUS. A beautiful purple autumn- 

 flowering species, limited to the Riviera 

 and the adjacent spurs of the Maritime 

 Alps. The flowers are produced in Octo- 

 ber before the leaves, which appear in the 

 following spring, and rarely exceed two 

 or three to a corm ; the blossoms are bright 

 purple, veined at the base ; the stigmata 

 bright scarlet and much branched. 



C. NUDIFLORUS. A pretty and well- 

 known species. Pyrenees and north of 

 Spain. Naturalised at Nottingham and 

 elsewhere in the midland counties. Its 

 large bluish-purple flowers are produced 

 in September and October before the 

 leaves. Where established it is difficult 

 to eradicate ; the corms produce long 

 stolon-like shoots, which form independent 

 corms on the death of the parent, and the 

 plant soon spreads to considerable dis- 

 tances. 



C. OCHROLEUCUS bears many creamy- 

 white flowers, with orange throat, from 

 the end of October to the end of Decem- 



ber. It well deserves a cold .frame, to 

 preserve its showy flowers from frost and 

 rain. 



C. PULCHELLUS. An autumnal species, 

 invaluable for the garden. The pale 

 lavender flowers, with bright yellow 

 throat, are freely produced .from the 

 middle of September to early in December. 

 Seed. 



C. SEROTINUS. South of Spain. Flow- 

 ers in November. The blossoms are more 

 or less distinctly feathered with darker 

 purple. C. Salzmanni is closely allied to 

 C. serotinus, but is of larger stature, 

 flowering with the leaves in October and 

 November. It is robust and readily mul- 

 tiplied. As the flowers are liable to injury 

 by frost and snow, it is seen to best advan- 

 tage under a cold frame. C. CJusi closely 

 resembles C. serotinus, and flowers with 

 the leaves in October. 



C. SIEBERI. A vernal species common 

 in the Greek Archipelago and the moun- 

 tains of Greece. The flower is usually 

 bright lilac, orange at the base, but the 

 form found in Crete and the Cyclades 

 presents a great variety of colour, from 

 white to purple, and these colours are 

 mottled, intermixed, and striped in endless 

 variety, contrasting with the bright orange 

 throat. The Cretan variety is of excep- 

 tional beauty. It flowers in cultivation 

 from the end of February to the middle of 

 March. 



C. SPECIOSUS. Among the handsomest 

 autumn Crocuses, flowering at the end of 

 September and early in October. Ranges 

 from N. Persia, through Georgia, the 

 Caucasus, and the Crimea, to Hungary. 

 The perianth segments, 2 inches high, are 

 rich bluish-purple, suffused with darker 

 purple veins, with which the bright orange 

 much-divided stigmata form a beautiful 

 contrast. It has been long in cultivation, 

 and readily multiplies by small bulbels at 

 the base of the corm. 



C. SUSIANUS. The well-known Cloth of 

 Gold Crocus, an early importation from 

 the Crimea. Both the orange and bronzed 

 susianus are among the earliest vernal 

 Crocuses, flowering in the open border in 

 February. C. stellaris is an old garden 

 plant somewhat resembling C. susianus. 

 The flower is orange, distinctly feathered 

 with bronze on the outer coat of the outer 

 segments. It is sterile, and never pro- 

 duces seed. It flowers early in March. 



C. VERNUS (Spring Crocus). One of the 

 earliest cultivated species. Alps, Pyre- 

 nees, Tyrol, Carpathians, Italy, and 

 Dalmatia. Naturalised in several parts of 

 England. Remarkable for its range of 

 colour, from pure white to deep purple, 

 endless varieties being generally inter- 

 mixed in its native habitats, and corre- 

 sponding with the horticultural varieties of 

 our gardens. Flowers early in March at 

 low elevations, and as late as June and 

 July in the higher Alps. The parent of 



