CHAPTER XI 



THE DURATION OF LILY FLOWERS 



THE duration of Lily flowers depends, to some extent, 

 upon the treatment the plants have received, and the 

 nature of the weather during the flowering season, but 

 even when allowance is made for this, the length of time 

 the flowers of some species remain fresh and bright 

 compared with others is very marked. 



In some cases even the varieties of one species vary in 

 this respect. An illustration of this is seen in the variety 

 of L. auratum, known as rubro-'vittatum^ in which the 

 golden band of the petal in the normal form is replaced 

 by bright crimson. When the flower first expands, the 

 glowing colour of this stripe, and its contrast with the 

 rest of the flower is very marked, but in a couple of 

 days, during hot weather, the crimson changes to a dull 

 brownish hue, and much of the beauty of the flower is 

 gone. 



The pure unspotted form, on the other hand, known 

 as Wittei or vir^inale, retains its freshness throughout 

 the whole period of expansion, and is therefore attractive 

 nearly twice as long as other varieties. 



Of nearly related species of the Isolirion group, 

 L. bulbiferum, L. croceum, and L. dauricum, the flowers 

 of the two first named are considerably more lasting 

 than the other, which soon becomes dull, but this is 

 probably explainable by the thinner texture of the petals 

 of L. dauricum. 



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