40 THE BOOK OF THE LILY 



bright green in tint, and the unopened buds are also 

 tinged with green. The petals are long and reflex in 

 a very regular way, and pure white, except a greenish 

 stripe which extends about halfway down the centre 

 of each petal. The anthers are brown, and by this 

 character it may be distinguished from another Japanese 

 form, album novum, in which the anthers are also some- 

 what larger than those of Kratzeri. 



COLOURED VARIETIES. The names roseum and rubrum 

 have long been used to indicate varieties of this Lily, 

 but there is really little if any difference between them 

 as grown by the Dutch, though the rubrum of the 

 Japanese is a superior flower, being larger, and deeper 

 in colour. The finest, however, of all the rich tinted 

 forms of L. speciosum is that known as Melpomene, which 

 is imported from Japan. In this the flowers are of a 

 deep carmine crimson, intensified by a narrow margin 

 of white on each flower. The bulbs of this are as a 

 rule more irregular in shape than those of any other 

 variety of L. speciosum. The variety punctatum has blush 

 pink flowers with deeper coloured dots, but though 

 pretty when in good condition its constitution is too 

 weak for general culture. The variety gloriosoides was 

 introduced some years ago, but appears to have become 

 extinct in this country. It is a beautiful variety, with 

 flowers copiously spotted with pink on the white petals. 



When planted in the open ground, deep sandy loam, 

 with an admixture of leaf mould and peat, is best suited 

 to the requirements of L. speciosum, and the bulbs should 

 be planted among shrub growth where the young shoots 

 will be protected from the cold cutting winds of early 

 spring. The conditions detailed for L. auratum will also 

 suit L. speciosum and its varieties. Though a beautiful 

 border Lily in the southern parts of England, it often 

 flowers too late in the northern districts to be seen at 

 its best, hence it is frequently grown in pots, placed in 



