LILIUM. 



THE ENGLISH FLOWER GARDEN. 



LILIUM. 



547 



early staking and tying may have some- 

 thing to do with many growing taller than 

 they otherwise might." 



L POMPONIUM. This lovely Lily must 

 not be confounded with the L. pomponium 

 usually sold as such, this latter being 

 simply the red variety of L. pyrenaicum. 

 L. pomponium is elegant and vigorous, and 

 blooms earlier than the varieties of chalce- 

 donicum and pyrenaicum, to which it is 

 related. It is about 3 feet high, is erect, 

 and has long linear leaves. The flowers 

 appear in a lax raceme i foot through, and 

 a well-established plant will bear as many 

 as twenty flowers. In rich loam it grows 

 luxuriantly in sunshine or shade, and no 

 difficulty is experienced with either home- 

 grown or imported roots. Maritime Alps. 

 /.. pyrenaicum, a similar but smaller plant, 

 with small yellow flowers, is a variety of 

 L. pomponium, and the red form is much 

 inferior to the true L. pomponium, though 

 generally sold for it. These varieties 

 require the same culture as L. pomponium. 

 L. pomponium has an extremely offensive 

 odour, and is not, therefore, likely to be 

 used for cutting. 



L. REGALE. This, the handsomest Lily 

 of the Browni group, and formerly known 

 as L. myriophyllum, is nearly allied to 

 L. hucanthum (itself a form of L. Browni}, 

 from which it differs in its narrow one- 

 nerved leaves densely crowded on the 

 stems, the absence of bulbils, its earlier 

 flowers, and other minor details. The 

 grey-green stems vary from i to 5 feet 

 in height, bearing fragrant funnel-shaped 

 flowers 5 or 6 inches long, shaded with 

 purple on the outside, and pure white 

 shading to clear yellow on the inside and 

 in the tube. No greater acquisition to the 

 Lily tribe has ever been introduced, it 

 being not only the handsomest but the 

 most reliable of garden Lilies. Sir Herbert 

 Maxwell has said of it that it has " the 

 constitution of a dray-horse and the grace 

 of a thoroughbred." It is not a Lily for 

 peat, and thrives best in cool loam, leaf- 

 mould and sand, preferring distant shade. 

 Perfect drainage is essential. Seeds are 

 produced abundantly, and as the seedlings 

 flower when three years old the wait is 

 not great. Seed may be sown in drills in 

 the open or in frames. Coddling in pans 

 or in the greenhouse is not necessary. 

 The bulbs are found on the scrub-clad 

 mountain sides of W. China at elevations 

 of 3,000 to 6,000 feet, where they seem to 

 prefer rocky, stone-filled soils. 



L. SPECIOSUM, or lancifolium as it is 

 erroneously called, is one of the most 

 popular for pot-culture, and is no less 

 desirable for the open air, though, being 

 somewhat delicate, it is grown to perfec- 

 tion under glass. It is well known, and 

 we need not describe it. The chief varie- 

 ties of it are the true speciosum, which has 

 large deep rosy blossoms, richly spotted ; 

 vestale, pure white ; album, white or faintly 



tinged with pink ; rubrum, deep red ; 

 roseum, rosy-pink ; punctatum, white 

 spotted with pink ; Krcstzcri, very large 

 white flowers with greenish stripe on the 

 exterior ; album novum, a somewhat finer 

 variety with light orange anthers, and 

 broader petals of great substance ; fas- 

 datum album and fasciatum rubrum, two 

 monstrous varieties bearing numerous 

 flowers on flattened stems. Among the 

 more beautiful Japanese forms are roseum, 

 superbum, and formosum, and rubrum 

 macranthum, cruentum, compactum, and, 

 darkest of all, Melpomene (not the Ameri- 

 can Melpomene}. The speciosum Lilies 

 are stem-rooting, and should be planted 

 deep and generously treated. All the 

 varieties require shelter from winds and 

 draughts, and a rich loamy soil mixed 

 with peat and leaf-manure. They flower 

 for the most part in September, and last 

 longer in bloom than many other Lilies. 

 In good soils, very happy use can be made 

 of these handsome Lilies in warm and 

 sheltered places where their blooms may 

 be fully developed. 



L. SUPERBUM (Swamp Lily). One of 

 the stateliest of N. American Lilies, bear- 

 ing late in summer beautiful orange-red 

 flowers, thickly spotted. It may be recog- 

 nised at once by its purple-tinged stems, 

 which rise 5 to 10 feet high, and which are 

 very graceful, waving with the slightest 

 breeze. A pyramid of flowers terminates 

 each stem. L. superbum delights in moist 

 deep soil consisting chiefly of peaty and 

 decayed leaf-manure, and is one of the 

 best Lilies for growing in shady woods 

 when the undergrowth is not too rank. 

 In the garden it should have snug glades 

 and nooks protected by shrubs, and moist 

 rich soil. L. carolinianum is a less showy 

 form. 



L. SUTCHUENENSE. One of the showiest 

 Lilies introduced of recent years. A good 

 idea of it is gained by likening it to a 

 miniature form of the old Tiger Lily, but 

 with no bulbils, narrower leaves, and 

 earlier flowers on very long flatly-spreading 

 stalks. The hairy stalks vary in height 

 from i to 6 feet, with many narrow leaves 

 and a head of bright scarlet flowers 

 covered with black dots, which vary in 

 density and are sometimes wanting alto- 

 gether. It comes from the grass-clad 

 mountain slopes of the Chino-Thibetan 

 frontier, and is commonly grown by the 

 peasants on the roofs of their houses, and 

 the bulbs used as food. The plant is of 

 easy culture, and flowers in three years 

 from seed. As many as twenty to twenty- 

 five flowers and buds often are produced 

 in a single head, so that when commoner 

 it should be a very handsome garden 

 plant. 



L. TENUIFOLIUM. A most elegant dwarf 

 Lily, especially valuable for earliness in 

 flowering. It is i to ij feet high, and has 

 narrow leaves on slender stems, furnished 



