400 



THE DICTIONARY OF GARDENING, 



Crocus continued. 



glabrous. I. ^in. broad, the lateral channels containing one or 

 two ribs. 

 C. revolutus (revolute). A synonym of C. susianug. 



FIG. 550. CROCUS SATIVUS. 



C. sattvns (cultivated). Saffron Crocus, fl. violet, variously 

 striped and marked with deeper or lighter tints, fragrant ; throat 

 hairy. Autumn. I. iin. broad, ciliated ; margins of blade and 

 keel ciliated. . Conn rather large, globular, depressed. From 

 Italy to Kurdistan. This species furnishes the saffron of 

 commerce. It appears to have been cultivated in Palestine 

 at the time of Solomon. See Fig. 550. (B. M. PL 274.) The 

 following plants, which have been accorded specific rank, are 

 all referable to C. gativus as mere forms : C. Cartwrightianus, 

 C. Elwesii, C. Baussbnechtii, C. Orrinii, C. Pallasii (SYNS. C. 

 Thomasii and C. hybemue). 



C. Sieberl (Sieber's). fl., throat orange, unbearded; perianth 

 a uniform bright lilac, with a rich golden base ; anthers orange ; 

 stigmata orange-scarlet. February and March. I. glabrous, 4in. 

 broad, with open, unribbed, lateral channels, h. 2in. to Sin. 

 Greece, &c. 



C. S. versicolor (various-coloured), fl. varying from white to 

 purple, and with white and purple stripings and featherings, but 

 always with a rich golden base. Crete and the Cyclades. 



C. speciosus (showy).* fl. bright lilac, internally striped with 

 deep purple lines, large ; stigmata orange, conspicuously fringed. 

 Autumn. I. iin to im. broad, with prominent keel, erect, ap- 

 ng almost with the flowers. Conns nearly round. East 



nge amen; e sye ving a e ase of the 

 d produced into long, spreading, entire, orange-scarlet 

 hich much exceed the anthers. February. I, proper 

 ing to the flowers, the margins of keel and blade cili- 



rope and West Asia. Probably the handsomest of autumnal- 

 flowering kinds. (B. M. 3861.) 



C. snsianus (Susian). Cloth of Gold Crocus, fl., perianth throat 

 glabrous; segments about liin. long and Jin. broad, reflexed, 

 deep orange, the outer face of outer segments variously feathered 

 with deep brown, occasionally self-coloured orange, or evenly 

 suffused with dull brown ; anthers orange, about twice the length 

 of the orange filament; the style dividing at the base of the 

 anthers, and prod 

 stigmata, which m 

 ones reaching to t 



ated ; sheathing leaves falling short of the proper spathe ; proper 

 spathe diphyUous. Conn about |in. broad ; tunic of strong re- 

 ticulated fibre, with long interspaces produced upwards into 

 sharp, wiry points, h. Sin. Crimea and Caucasus, 1605. This 

 is one of the earliest spring-flowering species. SYN. C. revolutus. 



C. Tonrnefortil (Tournefort's). fl. lilac, uniform, bright, with a 

 few purple veins, :,2iin. in diameter; throat orange. Autumn. 

 I appearing with the flowers. Conns large, nearly 2in. long. 

 closely covered with a soft brown membrane. The Cyclades and 

 the Morea. SYN. C. Orpkanidis. (B. M. 5776.) 



Crocus continued. 



C. venras (spring).* fl. lilac, violet, white (never yellow), or 

 streaked with white and violet ; inside of the throat always hairy. 

 Spring. 1. Jin. broad, rarely glabrous ; lateral channels wide and 

 open, without ribs, appearing with the flowers. Conn invested 

 with slender anastomosing fibres. Europe. This species was 

 one of the earliest introduced to cultivation, and has become 

 naturalised in several localities in Britain. It is remarkable for 

 the great range of the colouring of its flowers ; the endless 

 varieties, from pure white to deep purple, being generally inter- 

 mixed in its native habitats, and corresponding with the multi- 

 tude of horticultural varieties which decorate our gardens. See 



FIG. 552. CROCUS VERSICOLOR. 



C. versicolor (various-coloured).* /., perianth throat glabrous ; 

 segments about liin. long, varying from purple to white, self- 

 coloured, or externally feathered or veined with purple ; the 

 inner and outer segments are nearly similar in their markings ; 

 anthers yellow, twice the length of the white, slightly glandular 

 filament ; style dividing near the summit of the anthers, and 

 produced into entire orange stigmata, which are not divergent. 

 Spring. I., proper ones glabrous, reaching to the throat at the 

 flowering time, about iin. broad, and Sin. or 9in. long at maturity, 

 the lateral channels containing two or three ribs ; sheathing 



leaves falling short of the proper spathe ; proper spathe mono 

 phyllous. Conn pyrifonn, |in. wide ; tunic of parallel fibres. 

 Maritime Alps. This was one of the earliest species introduced, 

 and, from its tendency to vary in colour and markings, has given 

 rise to a host of horticultural varieties. SYN. C. fragrant. 

 See Fig. 552. (B. M. 1110.) 

 VARIETIES. The following are amongst the best to be 



obtained, either for pots, or for flower garden decoration 



in spring: 



ALBION STRIPED, white, striped mauve, large and early ; ARGUS, 

 blue and white ; CAROLINE CHISHOLM, pure white, dwarf; CLOTH 

 OP SILVER, white, striped purple ; DAVID B.IZZIO, purple, very 

 fine ; GENERAL GARIBALDI, dark purple, large and good ; 

 GOLDEN YELLOW, extra large and good ; MONT BLANC, large, 

 pure white, one of the best ; PRINCE ALBERT, fine dark blue ; 

 QUEEN VICTORIA, white; SIR JOHN FRANKLIN, dark purple, 

 large ; SIR WALTER SCOTT, white, striped lilac, fine. 



CROSSANDRA (from krossos, a fringe, and aner, 

 andros, a male; the anthers are fringed). SYNS. 

 Harrachia and Polythrix. OBD. Acanthacece. Beautiful 

 evergreen free-flowering stove shrubs. Flowers large, in 

 terminal four-cornered spikes, with broad bracts and 

 narrow bracteoles; corolla with a long tube, and a flat 

 five-cleft limb. Leaves sub-entire, vertioillate. There are 

 five species, one of which is a native of the East Indies ; 

 the others are from tropical Africa and Madagascar. All 

 are of easy culture in peat and loam. They may be readily 

 propagated by cuttings, which root freely, at almost any 

 time of the year, if planted in sand, and placed in bottom 

 heat. 



FIG. 551. CROCUS VKRNUS. 



(Guinea).* fl. pale lilac; spike solitary, sessile, 

 in. to 4in. high, striaie ; apex pungent, many-flowered ; bracts 

 many pairs, in. to fin. long, imbricated, lanceolate, green. 

 October. I. two to four pairs, shortly petioled, Sin. to 5in. long, 

 elliptic, sometimes obovate or oblong, deep green above, with 

 golden reticulated nerves, reddish beneath, with pubescent mid- 

 rib and nerves. Stem 2in. to 6in. high, erect, rarely branched, 

 light red, covered with a furfuraceous pubescence. Western 

 tropical Africa, 1877. (B. M. 6346.) 



C. Infondibuliformis (funnel-shaped). A synonym of C. un- 

 dulaifolia. 



C. tmdnlsefolia (waved-leaved), fl. of a rich reddish-orange, very 

 distinct and attractive, disposed in freely-produced compact 



