1128 



EREMOSTACHYS 



Asia. Erect herbs, with the Ivs. mostly radical, large, 

 toothed or cut-pinnatifid ; st.-lvs. small, passing into 

 floral bracts: fls. often ochroleucous, in many-fld. 

 whorls in terminal and axillary spikes; corolla-tube 

 included within the calyx; upper lip of corolla erect 

 and hooded, bearded inside; lower lip 3-lobed and the 

 middle lobe largest; stamens 4, with connivent anthers. 

 E. laciniata, Bunge, is catalogued abroad. Nearly 

 simple, 12-20 in. : Ivs. pinnatisect, the lobes again pin- 

 natifid: fls. yellow or ochroleucous, in midsummer. 

 Asia Minor. Said to be an attractive perennial. E. 

 superba, Royle, reported from Eu., has a strict st., 

 unbranched, 2 ft., root-lvs. pinnatisect, with segms. 

 lobed, forming a rosette: fls. deep primrose-yellow in 

 woolly heads to 6 in. long and 4 in. broad, showy. W. 

 Himalaya. L. H. B. 



EREMURUS (Greek name, probably 

 referring to their tall and striking aspect 

 in solitary and desert places). Lilidcese. 

 These hardy desert plants, when in flower 

 with their great flower-stalks taller than 

 a man and crowned with a spike of 

 flowers from 1 to 4 feet long, are amongst 

 the most striking objects in the choicer 

 gardens of the North and East. 



Root clusters of fleshy fibers: Ivs. all 

 from the root, in dense rosettes, long 

 and linear: fls. white, yellow or rosy; 

 perianth bell-shaped or more widely 

 spreading, withering and persisting or 

 finally dropping away; segms. 6, distinct 

 or very slightly united at the base; sta- 

 mens 6; ovary 3-celled; seeds 1-4 in 

 each cell, 3-angled. About 20 species, 

 from the mountains of W. and Cent. 

 Asia. 



Probably E. robustus and E. himalaicus 

 are the hardiest of all the tall desert- 

 inhabiting plants of the lily family a 

 family including the poker plant, the 

 aloes, the yuccas, and many others that 

 are not so tall and striking in appear- 

 ance or else too tender to grow outdoors 

 in the North. Large specimens of E. 

 robustus will annually produce a flower- 

 stalk 8 feet or more high, with racemes 

 4 feet long, remaining in bloom for a 

 month. After flowering the leaves dis- 

 appear entirely, but early in spring they 

 reappear, and should then be covered 

 with a box or barrel, to protect the form- 

 ing flower-stalk from late frosts. A 

 mound of ashes over the crown in win- 

 ter is advisable, or a box with water- 

 tight top filled with dry leaves. Both species like a 

 rich soil, moist but well drained, and plenty of water in 

 the flowering period, but none afterwards. Propagation 

 is by division, or slowly by seeds. Large plants are 

 expensive, but they can sometimes be secured large 

 enough to flower within a year or so of purchase. It 

 tries one's patience to wait for seedlings to reach flower- 

 ing size. The flowers look like small stars. (W. C. 

 Egan.) 



A. Fls. rosy. 

 B. Lvs. linear-ligulate. 



robustus, Regel. Root-fibers thick and fleshy: lys. 

 glaucous, glabrous, linear-ligulate, 2 ft. long, 13^-2 in. 

 wide, roughish on the margin, with minute recurved 

 teeth: raceme 4-4 J^ in. wide; stamens about as long as 

 the perianth. Turkestan. B.M. 6726. Gng. 6:52, 324. 

 Gn. 46, p. 335. Mn. 8, p. 123. J.H. III. 29:267. Gt. 61, 

 p. 366. G.C. III. 28: 228; 30: 426. Var. albus, Hort. 

 Stronger and pure white. May be grouped in the 

 hardy perennial border with bold effect. 



1409. Eremurus himalaicus. 



BB. Lvs. ovate-lanceolate. 



Elwesii, Mich. (E. Elwesidnus, Hort.). Lvs. light 

 green, ovate-lanceolate, obtuse, flat, not at all rough at 

 the margin, shorter than in E. robustus, nearly trian- 

 gular, even more glaucous, and beginning to decay at 

 the time of flowering: perianth-segms. with a band of 

 deeper color down the middle. Habitat(?). R.H. 

 1897:280. Gn. 54, p. 99. G.C. III. 24:137; 33:381. 

 G.M. 44:321. Intro, by Leichtlin as D. robustus 

 var. Elwesii. 



AA. Fls. white. 



himalaicus, Baker. Fig. 1409. Root-fibers thick and 

 fleshy: Ivs. 9-12, ligulate, firm, persistent, 1-1 H ft. 

 long, 6-15 lines wide above the middle: raceme 3-3 J^ 

 in. wide; stamens about as long as the perianth. Himal- 

 ayas. B.M. 7076. Gn. 49, p. 131. G.C. 

 II. 16:49. G.M. 44: 321; 52: 631 (as E. 

 Elwesii.) 



Olgae, Regel. Lvs. narrow, glabrous, 

 but with rough margins, about 8-12 in. 

 long and 7-8 lines broad: fls. in a dense 

 raceme, spreading; the white petals 

 with a single brownish nerve down the 

 center. Turkestan. Var. albus, Hort., a 

 white-fld. form is known. 



AAA. Fls. some shade of yellow. 



B. Color light yellow. 

 spectabilis, Bieb. Root-fibers thick 

 and fleshy: Ivs. 6-15, lorate, slightly 

 glaucous, 12-18 in. long, 6-12 lines wide 

 above the middle, noticeably narrowed 

 at the base: raceme 1-1 ^ ft. long, 2 

 in. wide; stamens orange, finally twice 

 as long as the perianth. Asia Minor, 

 Persia. B.M. 4870. 



BB. Color pure yellow or orange. 

 Bungei, Baker. Lvs. contemporary 

 with the fls., linear, 1 ft. long, less than 

 3 lines wide: raceme 4-5 in. long, 2 in. 

 wide; stamens finally twice as long as 

 the perianth. Persia. G. 19:31. G.L. 

 20:155. Gn. 60, p. 53; 66, p. 150. Var. 

 magnificus, Hort. A larger form than the 

 type and with brighter yellow fls . Var. 

 prsecox, Hort. An early flowering more 

 slender form than the type, the fls. 

 smaller and loosely scattered on the 

 spike. Var. citrinus, Hort. "More robust 

 than the type and with larger citron- 

 yellow fls." 



BBB. Color orange. 



aurantiacus, Baker. Closely allied to 

 E. Bungei, but live plants have less acutely keeled 

 Ivs.: root-fibers tapering upward, and orange fls. and 

 stamens. Bokhara, Turkestan. B.M. 113. 



During recent years many beautiful hybrid plants have been 

 intro. into cult., often under some specific name which gives no 

 indication of the parentage. Of these the following are known and 

 the parents are indicated when possible. E. isabellinus, Vilm. A 

 hybrid between E. Bungei and E. Olgse. Fls. large, apricot-rose. E. 

 Michelianus, Hort., is supposed to be a hybrid between E. Warei 

 and E. Bungei. G.C. III. 40:83, desc. E. Tubergknii, Hort. A 

 hybrid, crossed in Holland between E. himalaicus and E. Bungei. 

 E. vedrariensis, Hort.=E. robustus X E. spectabilis? R.H. 1907, 

 p. 229. E. Warei, Hort., is supposed to be a natural Eastern 

 Asiatic hybrid between E. Bungei and E. Olgse. It is described 

 as growing in ordinary seasons about 8 ft. high. The fls. are 

 less bright than in E. Bungei, and in rootstock it resembles the 

 later-flowering E. Olga. Gn. W. 22: suppl. May 27. 



WILHELM MILLER. 



N. TAYLOR.f 



ERIA (from Greek for wool, as the leaves of some 

 species are downy or woolly). Orchiddcese. About 100 

 species of tropical Asian orchids allied to Dendrobium 

 but with eight rather than two or four ppllinia, of most 

 diverse habit, and very little in cultivation outside the 



