896 



CRINUM 



CROCUS 



Ivs. 12 or more, lanceolate, narrowed both ways, 2-3 

 ft. long, 3-4 in. broad, veins distant, with distinct 

 cross veinlets: fls. 4-6, rarely 8-12 on a stout com- 

 pressed, peduncle 2-3 ft. long; tube 5-7 in. long; 

 segms. pure white, much imbricated, oblong; filaments 

 pure white, an inch shorter than segms. Trop. Afr. 

 B.M. 5205. F.S. 23:2443. G.F. 4:223. I.H. 33:617. 

 A very fragrant species. Var. nobile, Baker (C. 

 nobile, Bull), has the peduncle and fl. suffused with 

 tinge of red. C. giganteum is large or gigantic only in 

 its fls.; summer; warmhouse. 



30. Rattrayii, Hort. Excellent stove plant, 20 in.: 

 Ivs. ascending, strap-shaped, acute, entire, dark green: 

 fls. pure white, with a spread of 6 in., in few-fld. umbels; 

 segms. ovate-elliptic, acute or sometimes erose; sta- 

 mens strongly declined, nearly equaling the segms. 

 Uganda. G.C. III. 38:11 and suppl. 



31. abyssinicum, Hochst. Bulb ovoid, 3 in. thick, 

 the neck short: Ivs. about 6, linear, 1-1% ft. long, 

 %-l in. wide, veins close, margin rough, narrowed to 

 a point: fls. 4-6, on a peduncle 1-2 ft. high, the pedicels 

 very short or 0; perianth white, the tube slender, 2 in. 

 or less long, the segms. oblong, acute, 2-3 in. long and 

 %in. or less broad; filaments less than 1 in. long. Mts. 

 of Abyssinia. Greenhouse. 



32. virgineum, Mart. Bulb large and brown: foliage 

 as in C. giganteum, the Ivs. 2-3 ft. long and 3-4 in. 

 broad at the middle, narrowed both ways, pointed: fls. 

 about 6, sessile or very nearly so; tube 3-4 in. long; 

 segms. pure white, connivent, acute, as 



long as the tube; filaments much shorter 

 than the segms. S. Brazil. See also C. 

 virginicurn under No. 23. 



EE. Pedicels 1 in. long. 



33. imbricatum, Baker. Bulb very large, 

 globose: Ivs. strap-shaped, very thin, 3 ft. 

 long, 3 in. broad at middle and narrower 

 toward base, distinctly veined: fls. 5-6, on 

 a stout peduncle 1 ft. or more long; tube 

 slender and curved, 3 in. long, the cam- 

 panulate limb of equal length; segms. 

 imbricated, oblong-obtuse; filaments 1 in. shorter than 

 segms. S. Afr. Allied to C. giganteum. 



Crinums hybridize so freely, and the progeny is so likely to be 

 interesting, that many mongrel forms have been recorded under 

 Latin names. It is not feasible to account for all such names here. 

 Many of the forms are soon lost. C. Lugdrdx, N. E. Br. Bulb 

 small: Ivs. long and narrow, rough-edged: fls. 2-6, the peduncle 

 1 ft. or less high; tube nearly or quite 4 in. long; segms. lanceolate, 

 about or nearly as long as tube, white with light pink median stripe. 

 Trop. Afr. C. natans, Baker. Allied to C. purpurascens, but 

 aquatic, the 20 or so strap-shaped undulate Ivs. submerged: bulb 

 small, narrow-ovoid, with many long fibrous roots: fls. few, white, 

 the narrow segms. recurved. Upper Guinea. B.M. 7862. C. 

 rhoddnthum, Baker. Lvs. lorate, exceeding 1 ft., thick, ciliate- 

 edged: fls. many; tube 3 in. long; segms. red, lanceolate, 2% in. 

 long, erect-spreading and curved in upper part; stamens as 

 long as segms., the filaments red. Cent. Afr. G.C. III. 33:315. 

 C. Sdmuelii, Worsley. Bulb 3 in. diam. and 2% in. long: Ivs. 

 sometimes 4 ft. long, rough-edged: fls. 2, sessile, on peduncle 1 ft. 

 high, white slightly flushed with pink, not fragrant, 4J^ in. 

 across. Cent. Afr. C. Vdssei, Boiss. Bulb ovoid, 4 in. across, 

 without distinct neck: Ivs. linear-lorate, 2 ft. or less long, 2 in. 

 broad, rough-edged: fls. about 15, on peduncle 1 ft. or less high, 

 white with red median stripes; perianth funnel-shaped, 8 in. 

 long, the tube curved and red, the segms. linear-lanceolate, and 

 a little shorter than tube. Mozambique. R.H. 1908: 132. 

 C. Wimbushii, Worsley. Differs from C. Samuelii in Ivs. not 

 rough-edged, fls. on short pedicels, faintly fragrant, less lasting 

 and with longer style. Cent. Afr. C. zanzibarense, Hort.= (?). 



L. H. B.f 



CRITHMUM (Greek for barley, from some resem- 

 blance in the seed). Umbelliferae. SAMPHIRE. A single 

 species, C. maritimum, Linn., on shores in Great 

 Britain, W. Continental Eu., and the Medit. region, 

 rarely planted in wild gardens or borders. It is a fleshy 

 glabrous perennial herb, seldom more than 1 ft. high, 

 somewhat woody at the base: Ivs. 2-3-ternate, the 

 segms. thick and linear: umbels compound, of 15-20 

 rays, involucrate, the umbellules with involucels; 



petals very minute, entire, fugacious: fr. ovoid, not 

 compressed, about 3^ m - long. Thrives well in a sunny 

 situation, and will grow at considerable distance from 

 the sea. Prop, by division, and by seeds sown as soon 

 as ripe. 



CROCOSMIA (Greek, odor of saffron, which is per- 

 ceivable when the dried flowers are placed in warm 

 water). Iriddcese. Gladiolus-like garden plant. 



This genus has but one species, and is not clearly 

 distinguished from the closely allied Tritonia, but it 

 differs in the stamens being separated at equal dis- 

 tances instead of grouped at one side, the form of the 

 limb, the tube not swollen at the top, and the fr. 

 3-seeded, sometimes 5-seeded, instead of many-seeded. 



The name of this genus 

 ris spelled Crocosma by 

 Baker, but it was first 

 spelled Crocosmia. The 

 fls. with coppery tips sha- 

 ding into orange - yellow 

 are very distinct and at- 

 tractive. Pax, in Engler 

 & Prantl, combines the 

 genus with Tritonia. 



Crocosmia aurea is a 

 showy bulbous autumn- 

 blooming plant, which is 

 hardy south of Washing- 

 ton, D. C., with slight 

 protection, and in the 

 North is treated like 

 gladioli, the bulbs being 

 set out in the spring, after 

 danger of frost, and 

 lifted in the fall for 

 winter storage. It 

 is of easy culture, 

 and is propagated 

 by offsets or by 

 seeds which should 

 be sown in pots, 

 under glass, as soon 

 as ripe. Corms 

 should be stored in peat 

 or sphagnum to prevent 

 them from becoming too 

 dry. 



aurea, Planch. (Tritonia 

 aurea, Pappe.). Height 2 

 ft. : corm globose, emitting 

 offsets from clefts in the 

 side: scape 1^-2 ft. high, 

 leafy below, naked or only 

 b r a c t e d above, com- 

 pressed, 2-winged : Ivs. 

 distichous, shorter than 

 the scape, linear, ensiform, 

 striated, but with a distinct midrib: fls. sessile in the 

 panicle, perhaps 25 scattered over a long season, 

 with buds, fls. and seeds at the same time; perianth 

 bright orange-yellow toward center; tube slender, 

 curved, 1 in. long; segms. longer than the tube: caps. 

 3-celled. Trop. and S. Afr. July-Oct. F.S. 7:702. 

 B.M. 4335. B.R. 33:61 (Tritonia). Also interesting 

 as one parent of a bigeneric cross resulting in Tritonia 

 (Montbretia) crocosmseflora. Var. imperialis, Hort., 

 Fig. 1112, grows about 4 ft. high. Var. maculata, 

 Baker, has dark blotches above the base of the 3 inner 

 segms. J.H. III. 33:567. j. N. GERARD. 



WILHELM MILLER. 



CROCUS (Greek name of saffron). Iridacese. Low 

 spring-flowering and autumn-flowering garden bulbsj 

 showy, and well known. 



Stemless plants (the grass-like Ivs. rising from the 



1112. Crocosmia aurea var. 

 imperialis. 



