CRINUM 



THE BULB BOOK 



CRINUM 



large white flowers, usually flushed 

 with red down the back, are borne 

 on a roundish peduncle about 1 ft. 

 high. (Sot. Mag. t. 661 ; Red. Lit. 

 t. 347.) 



There are several forms of this 

 species, including album, with pure 

 white flowers ; striatum, white striped 

 with pink ; and Farinianum, from 

 the Kalahari Desert, with narrow, 

 funnel-shaped, pink flowers, very long 

 leaves, and a very long-necked bulb. 



CULTURE AND PROPAGATION. C. 

 longifolium is quite hardy in the 

 most favoured parts of the British 

 Islands, and often flowers well during 

 the summer months in the open air. 

 Even in some of the less favoured 

 spots it may be grown in the open 

 air, but it is then essential to protect 

 it with straw, litter, bracken, etc., 

 during the winter months. It 

 flourishes in a deep rich loamy soil, 

 and enjoys an abundance of moisture 

 during the summer season. When 

 planted boldly in clumps, C. longi- 

 folium produces a luxuriant effect 

 rarely seen in British gardens. New 

 plants are readily obtained by 

 detaching the offsets from the base 

 of the old bulbs about April and 

 May, or in the early autumn. If 

 placed in pots in rich loamy soil, and 

 grown on in a greenhouse or cold 

 frame, with' proper attention to 

 watering, and sprinkling overhead 

 occasionally, the young plants soon 

 become established. Another method 

 of propagation is by means of the 

 large fleshy and peculiar bulb-like 

 seeds, which are often freely produced 

 in irregular, roundish capsules. When 

 ripe, these fleshy "seeds should be 

 placed on the surface of moist soil 

 in a greenhouse, and they will soon 

 germinate. 



C. longifolium, in conjunction with 

 (7. Moorei, has produced the charming 

 hybrid named C. Powelli which see. 



The variety album, crossed with C. 

 yemense, has produced a hybrid called 

 Alexandra?. A form called riparium, 

 crossed with C. pratensc, has produced 

 C. Belladonna. C. longifolium itself 

 and C. lineare has produced a hybrid 

 known as Victoria?. Many other 

 garden hybrids have been raised from 

 C. longifolium and others. 



C. Lugardae. A distinct species 

 from the Kwebe Hills, S. Central 

 Africa, having small bulbs, long, 

 narrow, rough-edged leaves, and white 

 flowers with a light pink median 

 stripe, borne on scapes 4 to 12 ins. 

 high (Gard. Chron. 1903, xxxiv. 49). 



FlQ. 101. Crinum Moorei. (,<,.) 



C. Macowani. A species from 

 Natal, closely related to C. latifolium, 

 with large, roundish bulbs 9 to 10 ins. 

 in diameter, and a neck 6 to 9 ins. 

 long. The leaves are thin, bright 

 green, strap-shaped, 2 to 3 ft. long 

 and 3 to 4 ins. broad, while from ten 

 to fifteen funnel - shaped, pinkish 

 flowers are borne on a stout green 

 peduncle 2 to 3 ft. high. (Bot. Mag. 

 t. 6381.) 



C. Moorei (C. Makoyanum ; G. 



160 



