598 AMARYLLIDACE.E. 







3. CROCUS. 



1. 0. satwus (Saffron Crocus). Leaves appearing 

 after the flowers, linear ; flower-stalks enveloped with a 

 double sheath ; stigma long and drooping. Said to be 

 naturalized at Saffron- Walden, in Essex, where it is 

 largely cultivated for the sake of the saffron afforded by 

 its dried stigmas, the only part of the plant which 

 is used. The flowers are purple. Fl. September. 

 Perennial. 



* Several other species of Crocus are sometimes found 

 in the neighbourhood of gardens. In some of these the 

 leaves and flowers appear together in spring. The seed- 

 vessels, in their early stage, are concealed, at the base 

 of the long tube, beneath the ground ; but when the 

 flowers are withered, the stalk rises and exposes them 

 to the action of the air and sun, to be ripened. 



ORD. LXXXV. AMAKYLLID ACKE. AMARYLLIS 

 TRIBE. 



Perianth of 3 coloured sepals and 3 petals ; stamens 

 6, arising from the sepals and petals, sometimes united 

 by the base of their filaments ; ovary inferior, 3-celled; 

 style 1 ; stigma 3-lobed ; fruit a many-seeded capsule 

 or a 1 3-seeded berry. An extensive tribe, principally 

 composed of herbaceous plants with bulbous roots, 

 sword-shaped leaves, and showy flowers, which are dis- 

 tinguished from the true lilies by their inferior ovary ; 

 that organ in the Lily Tribe being superior, and 

 enclosed within the corolla. Large and beautiful species 

 belonging to this Order are found in abundance in 

 Brazil, the East and West Indies, and especially the 

 Cape of Good Hope. In the temperate regions they 

 are less common, and by no means so showy. In-Great 

 Britain, it is doubtful whether a single species is indi- 

 genous, though the number of varieties cultivated, in 



