J7«, 



CHAPTER VIII. 



1. AMARYLLIS— BRUNSVIGIA. 



The genus Amaryllis has in recent years been repre- 

 sented by a single species, A. belladonna Linn., a bulbous 

 plant that is native of the Cape of Good Hope, and 

 widely cultivated and popularly known as the belladonna 

 lily. The many other species known as amaryllids have 

 been assigned to other genera, including Hippeaslrum, 

 Crinum, Brunsvigia, Ammocharis, Lycoris, Nerine, 

 Stcmbergia, Vallota, Zephyranthes, and Sprekelia; but 

 even now many of them, especially the forms of Hippeas- 

 trum, are known and marketed as forms of Amaryllis. 



The genus Brunsvigia includes, according to Baker, 9 

 or possibly 10 species of South American bulbous plants. 

 As many as 5 of these have been classed as amaryllids. 



Starches were obtained from Amaryllis belladonna 

 Linn. (A. rosea Lam., A. pudica Gawl., Coburgia bella- 

 donna Herb.), Brunsvigia josephino? Gawl. {Amaryllis 

 josephinw Red., .4.. josephince Herb., A. griffiana Herb.), 

 and the hybrids Brunsdonna sanderaz alba and Bruns- 

 donna sandera. The specimens of .4. belladonna and 

 B. Joseph incB were obtained from C. G. Van Tubergen, Jr., 

 Haarlem, Holland, and those of the hybrids from the 

 growers, Sander and Sons, St. Albans, England. The 

 starch of another hybrid, Brunsdonna tubergeni, off- 

 spring from the same species, was also studied. The 

 specimens were obtained from the grower, C. G. Van 

 Tubergen, Jr. This hybrid differs materially from the 

 Brunsdonna; and is doubtless a product of a reciprocal 

 cross. Notes pertaining thereto will be found in the 

 form of an appendix to the A inaryllis-B runs vigia-B runs- 

 donna section in Chapter III, Part I, page 37. 



1. Stakches of Amaryllis belladonna, Bruns- 

 vigia josephinjs, Brunsdonna sandercs alba, 

 and B. sandercs. 



Amaryllis belladonna (Seed Parent). 



(Plate 1, figs. 1 and 4; Charts D 1 to D 21.) 

 Histologic Properties. 



In form the grains are usually simple and isolated. 

 No aggregates are observed and only an occasional com- 

 pound grain which usually consists of two small com- 

 ponents, each with its own hilum and a few circular 

 lamellae situated at the proximal end of a rather broad 

 ovoid-shaped grain. The grains are usually regular in 

 form, and such irregularities as occur are owing to the 

 following causes: (1) A greater broadening of the la- 

 mella? on one side than on the other, so that the grain is 

 somewhat distorted in form; (2) the occurrence of sec- 

 ondary sets of lamellae whose longitudinal axes are at an 

 angle to the longitudinal axis of the primary set ; (3) pro- 

 tuberances, which may be small and rounded, from the 

 proximal end or from the sides; (4) a slight deviation 

 of the longitudinal axis, usually at the distal end. The 

 conspicuous forms are elongated elliptical with both ends 

 rounded or with flattened distal end ; rather elongated 

 ovoid and pure, ovoid. There are also nearly round, 



and occasionally triangular with rounded angles, and 

 pyriform grains. The grains are not flattened. 



The hilum is a small, round, moderately distinct and 

 not very refractive spot. It is usually not fissured, but 

 when fissures occur, they appear as either small, straight, 

 transverse, or longitudinal lines, with very small fis- 

 sures branching out from them or oblique lines radiat- 

 ing from a central cavity. The hilum is eccentric from 

 0.27 to 1.16, usually 0.26, of the longitudinal axis. 



The lamella are usually distinct and rather fine; 

 when near the hilum they are continuous and circular or 

 oval; the rest appear to be discontinuous and have the 

 form of the outline of the grain. Often one very broad, 

 refractive lamella separates the grain into two parts, 

 which lamella 1 may be located at any position from the 

 upper fourth to lower fourth of the grain. The finer 

 lamella? are divided into bands of different widths by a 

 variable number of less fine and more refractive lamellae. 

 The lamella; at the distal end are often more distinct and 

 less fine than those of the rest of the grain, but this is not 

 invariably the case. The number of lamellae counted on 

 the larger grains varies from 24 to 50, commonly 42. 



The size varies from the smaller grains which are 

 10 by 8/*, to the larger which are 62 by 40^i in length 

 and breadth. The common size is 46 by 30/*. 



Polariscopic Properties. 



The figure varies from centric to very eccentric, 

 mostly the latter, hence the mean is very eccentric, and 

 it is distinct and clean-cut. The lines are generally fine 

 with slight broadening at the margin and usually inter- 

 sect obliquely. They are commonly straight but occasion- 

 ally bent. Compound figures arc rare. 



The degree of polarizafion is very high (value 97). 

 There is very little variation either among the individ- 

 ual grains, a few being extremely high, or in the same 

 aspect of a given grain. 



With selenite the quadrants are sharply defined, gen- 

 erally unequal in size, and usually regular in shape. The 

 colors are generally pure, the orange sometimes showing 

 slight impurity as a reddish or brownish tinge at the 

 point of intersection. A greenish tinge is found to both 

 the blue and the orange of a few grains which have an 

 extremely high degree of polarization. 



Iodine Reactions. 



With 0.25 per cent Lugol's solution most of the grains 

 immediately color a moderate blue-violet with a few mod- 

 erately deep (value 55), which deepens quickly to mod- 

 erate to deep, becoming more bluish in tint. With 0.125 

 per cent Lugol's solution the grains color very lightly 

 blue-violet which deepens very little, still remaining very 

 light. After heating in water until all the grains are 

 gelatinized and then adding 2 per cent Lugol's solution, 

 most of the grains color a moderately deep to very deep 

 indigo-blue; some grains have a reddish tint and thus 



379 



