ANDROSTEPHIUM 



THE BULB BOOK 



ANEMONE 



to the stamens or male organs being 

 enclosed in a hollow formed by the 

 folding of the petals). Nat. Ord. 

 Liliacese. A genus containing about 

 thirteen species of greenhouse bulbs or 

 corms, more curious perhaps than 

 ornamental, chiefly natives of South 

 Africa and the Mediterranean region. 

 They like sandy soil, plenty of sun- 

 shine, and a dry atmosphere, and 

 when at rest no water. The tufts 

 of leaves spread out on the soil, and 

 the flowers, more or less stalk- 

 less, appear in the centre. The 

 species sometimes met with in 

 botanical collections are A, melan- 

 thium eucomoides, green (Hot. Mag. 

 t. 641); A.leucanthum, white (figured 

 in Sw. Brit. Fl. Gard. as A. 

 eucomoides) ; A. melanthoides, white ; 

 A. punctatitm, whitish; and A. 

 volutare, white all natives of South 

 Africa. 



ANDROSTEPHIUM (aner, anther ; 

 stepliaiios, a crown ; in reference to 

 the dilated filaments forming a cor- 

 ona). Nat. Ord. Liliacese. A small 

 genus having only two or three species 

 of bulbous plants intermediate be- 

 tween Brodiaea and Bessera, and 

 distinguished by having six-lobed 

 funnel-shaped flowers in clusters or 

 terminal umbels. 



A. vioiaceum. A native of Texas, 

 grows 6 to 9 ins. high, has few narrow 

 leaves, and about April or May pro- 

 duces its umbels of bluish - violet 

 flowers. 



It is a fairly hardy species in the 

 milder parts of the Kingdom, and 

 flourishes in a rich sandy loam. In 

 severe winters, and especially in 

 bleak spots, it is necessary to protect 

 the bulbs from frost by covering 

 with litter or ashes, or by taking 

 them up in autumn and storing 

 until spring Propagated by offsets 

 or seeds. 



77 



ANEMONE ( Windflower , anemos, 

 the wind). Nat. Ord. Ranunculaceze. 

 There are about seventy species of 

 Windflower, all hardy herbaceous per- 

 ennials, with radical leaves more or 

 less divided and lobed, some with 

 fibrous roots, others with tuberous 

 ones. The latter are the only ones 

 considered in this work, but the 

 reader will find ample information 

 regarding the others in the author's 

 Practical Guide to Garden Plants. 



The tuberous - rooted Anemones 

 flourish in the [open border in rich 

 sandy loam that has been deeply dug 

 to secure perfect drainage. Indeed 

 they succeed in ordinary good garden 

 soil that has a good depth and is 

 enriched with well-decayed manure 

 every year or two. They soon estab- 

 lish themselves, and are not only 

 valuable for the ordinary flower- 

 border, but also for grassy slopes 

 and banks, rock-gardens, terraces, 

 etc. 



A.apennina (Apennine Wind/lower). 

 A tuberous blackish-rooted species 

 from S. Europe, growing about 6 ins. 

 high. The stem leaves are in whorls of 

 three, with long blunt lobes, all some- 

 what pubescent. Flowers about 2 ins. 

 across, bright sky blue, appear on 

 single stalks in March. There is a 

 white (alba) and also a rose-coloured 

 (rosea) variety. 



This species prefers sandy loarn or 

 peat, and thrives under the partial 

 shade of trees. It makes a beautiful 

 carpet of blue, and should be grown 

 for this purpose in large patches, 

 beneath deciduous trees and shrubs, 

 or mixed with Tulips, Daffodils, etc. 

 Easily increased by division. 



A. baldensis. A rare tuberous- 

 rooted Swiss species about 6 ins. high. 

 The leaves are twice ternate, with 

 many parted narrow segments. The 

 solitary flowers appear in May, and 

 have eight to ten oblong oval white 



