504 CROCUS. 



THE ENGLISH FLOWER GARDEN. 



CUCURBITA. 



Spain. Naturalised at Nottingham and 

 elsewhere in the midland counties. Its 

 large bluish-purple flowers are produced 

 in September and October before the 

 leaves. Where established it is difficult 

 to eradicate ; the corms produce long 

 stolon-like shoots, which form inde- 

 pendent corms on the death of the 

 parent, and the plant soon spreads to 

 considerable distances. 



C. OChroleilCUS bears many creamy- 

 white flowers, with orange throat, from 

 the end of October to the end of 

 December. It well deserves a cold 

 frame, to preserve its showy flowers from 

 frost and rain. 



C. pulchellus. An autumnal species, 

 invaluable for the garden. The pale 

 lavender flowers, with bright yellow throat, 

 are freely produced from the middle of 

 September to early in December. Seed. 



C. serotinus. S. of Spain. Flowers 

 in November. The blossoms are more 

 or less distinctly feathered with darker 

 purple. C. Salzmanni is closely allied 

 to C. serotinus, but is of larger stature, 

 flowering with the leaves in October and 

 November. It is robust and readily 

 multiplied. As the flowers are liable to 

 injury by frost and snow, it is seen to 

 best advantage under a cold frame. C. 

 Clusi closely resembles C. serotinus, and 

 flowers with the leaves in October. 



C. Sieberi. A vernal species common 

 in the Greek Archipelago and the moun- 

 tains of Greece. The flower is usually 

 bright lilac, orange at the base, but the 

 form found in Crete and the Cyclades 

 presents a great variety of colour, from 

 white to purple, and these colours are 

 mottled, intermixed, and striped in endless 

 variety, contrasting with the bright orange 

 throat. The Cretan variety is of excep- 

 tional beauty. It flowers in cultivation 

 from the end of February to the middle 

 of March. 



C. speciosus. Among the handsomest 

 autumn Crocuses, flowering at the end of 

 September and early in October. Ranges 

 from North Persia, through Georgia, the 

 Caucasus, and the Crimea, to Hungary. 

 The perianth segments, 2 in. high, are 

 rich bluish -purple, suffused with darker 

 purple veins, with which the bright orange 

 much-divided stigmata form a beautiful 

 contrast. It has been long in cultivation, 

 and readily multiplies by small bulbels at 

 the base of the corm. 



C. susianus. The well-known Cloth 

 of Gold Crocus, an early importation 

 from the Crimea. Both the orange and 

 bronzed susianus are among the earliest 

 vernal Crocuses, flowering in the open 



border in February. C. stellaris is an 

 old garden plant somewhat resembling C. 

 susianus. The flower is orange, dis- 

 tinctly feathered with bronze on the outer 

 coat of the outer segments. It is sterile, 

 and never produces seed. It flowers 

 early in March. 



C. vernus (Spring Crocus]. One of 

 the earliest cultivated species. Alps, 

 Pyrenees, Tyrol, Carpathians, Italy, and 

 Dalmatia. Naturalised in several parts 

 of England. Remarkable for its range 

 of colour, from pure white to deep purple, 

 endless varieties being generally inter- 

 mixed in its native habitats, and corre- 

 sponding with the horticultural varieties of 

 our gardens. Flowers early in March at 

 low elevations, and as late as June and 

 July in the higher Alps. The parent of 

 nearly all the purple, white, and striped 

 Crocuses grown in Holland. 



C. versicolor. This well-known spe- 

 cies has long been in cultivation. The 

 flowers present a great variety of colour- 

 ing, from purple to white, and are variously 

 striped and feathered. It differs from 

 the two preceding species in having the 

 whole of the perianth segments similarly 

 coloured, and the external buff coating of 

 C. Imperati and C. suaveolens is absent. 

 Its flowering time is March. 



C. zonatus. Mountains of Cilicia. 

 Bright vinous-lilac flowers, golden at the 

 base, abundant about the middle of Sep- 

 tember. It is highly ornamental and free- 

 flowering, and easy of culture. The 

 flowers come before the leaves, which do 

 not appear till spring. It has been in 

 cultivation about fourteen years. 



This account of the genus is condensed 

 from an article in The Garden of 28th Janu- 

 ary 1882, by Mr. Geo. Maw, of Benthall 

 Hall, near Broseley. The article contains 

 a full account of the family with descrip- 

 tions of species not in cultivation, giving 

 botanical authorities, and fuller technical 

 descriptions. 



CKYPTOMEEIA. C. japonica is a 

 graceful and famous Japanese and Chinese 

 tree much planted in Britain, but rarely 

 thriving except under the genial influence 

 of the sea, and even there never attaining 

 to the noble dimensions which it does in 

 Japan. It has a number of synonyms 

 and some varieties, elegans being the 

 most popular. This, which looks well in 

 the nursery state, is not a hardy or a good 

 tree, suffering much in cold and snow, 

 and is really a "sport" rather than a 

 true form, such sports rarely or never 

 forming good trees. 



CUCUEBITA (Gourd]. There is no 

 Order more wonderful in the variety and 



