THE ENGLISH FLOWER GARDEN. 



CROCUS. 



517 



C. pulchellus, lilac ; Sept. and Oct. 

 speciosus, blue ; Sept. and Oct. 

 ,, iridiflonis, blue ; Sept. and Oct. 

 ,, Salsmanni ~\ lilac or blue ; October 

 / and November. 



in the early autumn. 



Clusi 

 cancellatus 

 Cambessidesi 

 hadriaticus 

 These are succeeded by a long series of 

 late autumnal, winter, and early vernal 

 species, which are grown to best advantage 

 in a brick pit. 



Of the vernal species suitable for the 

 border, the earliest is C. Imperati, flower- 

 ing in February, followed by 



C. susiamts, or Cloth of Gold, in Feb- 

 ruary. 

 biflorus 

 etruscus 

 suave olens 

 ,, versicolor 

 vernus Flower- 



Tommasinianus ing from 



dalmaticus the end 



banaticus ( of Feb- 



Sieberi and var. versicolor I ruary to 

 chrysanthus the first 



aureus week in 



sulphureus April. 



vars. pallidus and striatus 

 stellaris 

 Olivieri 

 minimus 



Of the Crocuses recently introduced, 

 many vernal species will probably be 

 suitable for the spring garden, but, as they 

 are rare and scarcely procurable, we give 

 those more generally known and easy to 

 obtain. 



C. alatavicus. The flowers of this new 

 Asiatic species are white, yellow towards 

 the throat, the outer surface of the outer 

 segments being freckled with rich purple. 

 It is a free-flowering species, but from its 

 early-flowering time, January and Feb- 

 ruary, it can only be grown to advantage 

 under a cold frame. A white variety 

 without external purple freckling is not 

 uncommon. The leaves are produced at 

 the flowering time in early spring. 



C. aureus. A handsome plant from the 

 Banat, Transylvania, European Turkey, 

 Greece, and Western Bithynia, generally 

 at low elevations, flowering in February. 

 It was one of the first introduced to 

 cultivation, and is the parent of our yellow 

 garden or Dutch yellow Crocus, and of a 

 number of old varieties lacteus, sul- 

 phureus, pallidus, striatus, &c., the history 

 of which is unknown ; they are not found 

 wild, and are sterile. The wild plant 

 varies considerably, from unstriped orange 

 to varieties striped with gray lines, like 



those in the Dutch yellow Crocus. The 

 stigmata are short, unbranched, pale 

 yellow, and much shorter than the anthers ; 

 in the Transylvanian plant the stigmata 

 are occasionally orange. The anthers are 

 wedge-shaped, tapering towards the point, 

 and notably divergent. The unstriped 

 form readily produces seed when in cul- 

 tivation, but the striped Dutch yellow is 

 sterile, though effete capsules are occasion- 

 ally formed. C. Olivieri resembles C. 

 aureus. but is smaller. 



C. banaticus. Common in the Banat, 

 Hungary, and Transylvania, where it takes 

 the place of C. vernus, to which it is allied. 

 It is highly ornamental ; the flowers are 

 a deep rich purple, occasionally varied 

 with white, with a darker purple blotch 

 near the end of the segments. The throat 

 is glabrous, which easily distinguishes it 

 from C. vernus. It is cultivated in several 

 Continental and English gardens under 

 the name of C. veluchensis a distinct 

 species. Flowers in February and March. 



C. biflorus. The Scotch, or Cloth of 

 Silver, Crocus is a large variety of the 

 typical form, and is abundant throughout 

 a large portion of Italy. The segments 

 vary from white to a pale lavender, the 

 outer surface of the outer segments being 

 distinctly feathered with purple markings. 

 In var. estriatus, from Florence, the 

 flowers are a uniform pale lavender, 

 orange towards the base. In var. Weldeni, 

 from Trieste and Dalmatia, the outer 

 segments are externally freckled with 

 bright purple. In C. nubigenus, a very 

 small variety from Asia Minor, the outer 

 segments are suffused and freckled with 

 brown ; C. Pestalozza is an albino of this 

 variety. In C Adami, from the Caucasus, 

 the segments are pale purple, either self- 

 coloured or externally feathered with dark 

 purple. C. biflorus is an early-flowering 

 spring species, and is highly ornamental 

 for border decoration. 



C. Boryi. Flowers white, but bright 

 orange at the throat. Abundant at Corfu 

 and in the neighbourhood of Patras, 

 flowers in October, but it does not bloom 

 freely in cultivation, and requires the pro- 

 tection of glass for the development of its 

 flowers. 



C. byzantinus. See C. iridiflorus. 



C. cancellatus. A beautiful autumnal 

 species, varying from white to pale bluish- 

 purple. The flowers are generally veined 

 or feathered towards the base of the 

 segments. They appear without the 

 leaves, which come in spring. The 

 flowering time is from the end of October 

 to December. A robust species, easy of 

 culture, but, like many late autumnal 



