526 



THE DICTIONARY OF GARDENING, 



Ornith.og'aluni continued. 



of Good Hope, 1757. Greenhouse. See Fig. 778. (B. M. 1164; 

 Ref. B. 20.) There are two or three varieties of this species : 

 in album, the flowers are pure white, with a dark centre, and 

 are very numerously produced in tine spikes ; in aureum, a hand- 

 some form (B. M. 190, under name of 0. aureum), the flowers are 

 of a golden colour ; in flavescens (B. R. 305), the flowers are 

 saffron-colour; in flavissimum (A. B. R. 505), the flowers are of a 

 much deeper yellow than in the type. 



FIG. 778. LEAVES AND INFLORESCENCE OF ORNITHOGALUM 

 THYRSOIDES. 



O. umbcllatum (umbelled).* Star of Bethlehem. ft. of a satiny- 

 white on the inside, and green striped with white without, dis- 

 posed in an umbel or corymb ; scape about 6in. high. May. 

 I. six to nine, ascendent, 6in. to 12in. long, Jin. broad. Europe 

 (naturalised in Britain). One of the showiest and best species. 

 See Fig. 779. (F. D. 1266 ; J. F. A. 343 ; Sy. En. B. 1524.) 



O. unifolium (one-leaved). /. greenish- white ; raceme sub- 



June. 

 1805. 

 obust 



riety, continuum, with two, rarely three or five, leaves, and 

 an eight to twenty -flowered raceme. (B. M. 953.) 



O. vircns (green), ji. white; raceme dense, thirty to fifty- 

 flowered ; scape 1ft. to lift, high, erect, terete. June. I. five or 

 six, fleshy-herbaceous, hnear-lorate, lift, to 2ft. long, |in. to 

 lin. broad. Cape of Good Hope, 1823. Greenhouse. (B. R. 

 814.) 



O. vittatum (striped), ft. yellow, green at back ; raceme loose, 

 six to twelve-flowered, " Sin. to 4in. long, liin. broad; scape 

 upright, 6in. to 9in. high. June. I. five or six, sub-terete, 

 fleshy-herbaceous, 6in. to Sin. long, in. broad. Cape of Good i 

 Hope, 1802. Greenhouse. (B. M. 1329, under name of Albuca 

 vittata.) 



ORNITHOGLOSSUM (from ornis, ornithos, a bird, 

 and glossa, a tongue ; alluding to the resemblance existing 

 in the petals). SYNS. Cymation, Lichtensteinia. ORD. 

 Liliacece. A genus comprising two species (or well-marked 

 varieties) of greenhouse bulbous plants, natives of South 

 Africa. Flowers long-stalked, solitary in the axils of the 

 floral leaves or bracts, in loose, terminal, often few- 



spicate, three to six-flowered: scape 3in. to 6in. long. June. 

 1. solitary, linear, Sin. to 6in. long, iin. broad. Gibraltar, 1805. 

 (B. M. 935.) Of this species, there is a taller and more robust 



Ornithoglossuni continued. 



flowered racemes ; perianth segments distinct, linear or 

 linear-lanceolate. Stem leaves lanceolate or narrow, con- 

 tinuous with the sheath ; upper floral ones linear. Stem 

 simple, erect. Ornithoglossums thrive in sandy loam, 

 and require but little care. When growing, they must, 

 of course, be supplied with water; but after flowering, 

 the pots may be stored in a dry, cool place until it is 

 time to repot the following spring. " We find, upon 

 trial, that all the Cape bulbs may be grown with 

 advantage in the open ground, by making up a bed of 

 light, sandy soil, and planting the bulbs from 4in. to 

 Sin. deep, according to their size ; they may be planted 

 in April, and, after they have done flowering, may be 

 taken up and kept dry till the following spring, in 

 the same manner as Tigridia ; or, if left in the ground 

 all the winter, they will require to be covered with 

 some dry litter or old tan, so as to keep the frost from 

 the bulbs" (Sweet). 



O. glaucum (glaucous;. /(. green, edged with purplish-brown, 

 scentless ; perianth segments equal, subulate-lanceolate, reflexed, 

 shortly unguiculate ; scape leafy, angular. December. I. oppo- 

 site, alternate ; radical ones close, largest, channelled, lanceolate, 

 long-acuminate, recurved. Bulb liin. high, ovate-pyramidal. 

 h. 6in. 1825. (A. B. R. 233; B. M. 994, under name of Melan- 

 thium viride.) 



O. undulatum (wave-leaved), fl. green, with purplish markings, 

 nodding, fragrant at night, but scentless during the day ; perianth 

 segments narrow-lanceolate, acute, sessile, reflexed a little above 

 the base ; scape short and stout, leafy. September. I. radical, 

 distichous, lower ones broadest, lanceolate, tapering to a point ; 

 margins brownish-purple, undulated. Root a bulb-tuber, large, 

 ' avered with a brown shell, h. 6in. 1825. (S. B. F. G. 



solid, and cov 

 131.) 



OB.NITHOFTEB.IS. 



Pteris. 



FIG. 779. ORNITHOGALUM UMBELLATUM. 



