32 THE BOOK OF THE LILY 



ing. There is a double-flowered variety of the common 

 L. Martagon named flore plenum, but is very rare and not 

 particularly beautiful, though interesting as being one of 

 the few Lilies with double flowers. 



L. medeoloides. A Japanese Lily much resembling the 

 Oat-scale Lily, L. avenaceum, and with which it is often 

 confused ; but it is rather a taller grower and the re- 

 flexed flowers are of a brighter orange-red tint. Like 

 L. avenaceum, it is difficult to grow and is therefore very 

 rare in this country. 



L. monadelphum (the Caucasian Lily) is an old intro- 

 duction, and one about which there has been, and is still, 

 some confusion in regard to its correct name ; and this 

 has arisen no doubt because of its variation in flower, 

 colour, and other characters. It is still known in gardens 

 under the names of L. colchicum, L. Loddigesianum, L. 

 Ledebouri, and L. Szovitzianum. But taking a broad view 

 of mere colour variation of flower, there appear to be 

 but two distinct forms of this Lily. These are the 

 type which, according to the Kew nomenclature, is JL. 

 monadelphum y and the other distinct form is the variety 

 Szovitzianum. The difference between these is well 

 marked in the colour alone, the type having flowers of 

 rich yellow colour, more or less copiously spotted, and 

 the stamens tipped with straw-coloured anthers. In the 

 Szovitzianum variety the flowers are larger, the colour 

 paler, and the anthers red, and the segments less reflexed. 



Technically the difference between the two is discerned 

 by the stamens of monadelphum being joined at the base, 

 while in Szovitzianum they are free to the bases. 



It is one of the early flowering Lilies, being usually at 

 its best at the end of May in early seasons, or during the 

 first part of June in later springs. It reaches a height 

 of four to six feet, or taller ; the stems are stout, and 

 the numerous leaves are pale green, and the flowers 

 are often numerous, forming regular pyramidal-shaped 



