562 



FRITILLARIA. 



THE ENGLISH FLOWER GARDEN. 



FRITILLARIA. 



soil in well-drained borders with a warm 

 exposure. 



F. latifolia. A most variable species 

 as regards the colour of the flowers, 

 which are larger than those of our native 

 F. Meleagris. They are borne on stems 

 about i ft. higli, are pendulous, and vary 

 in colour through various shades of purple, 

 black, lilac, and yellow. The principal 

 named varieties are Black Knight, Cap- 

 tain Marryat, Caroline Chisholm, Cooper, 

 Dandy, Jerome, Maria Goldsmith, Mari- 

 anne, Mellina, Pharaoh, Rembrandt, 

 Shakespeare, Van Speyk, each represent- 

 ing a different shade of colour. They 



White Fritillary. 



grow freely in an open situation in any 

 soil, and are excellent for naturalising. 

 Caucasus. 



F. Meleagris (Snakes -head] is an 

 elegant native species, of which there are 

 numerous varieties. It is 9 to 18 in. high, 

 and in early summer bears a solitary 

 drooping flower, beautifully tesselated 

 with purple or purplish-maroon on a pale 

 ground. The chief varieties are the 

 white (alba), which has scarcely any dark 

 markings ; nigra, a deep purplish-black ; 

 pallida, light purple ; angustifolia, with 

 long narrow leaves ; major, with flowers 

 larger than the type ; praecox, which 

 flowers about a week earlier than the 

 other forms ; flavida yellow ish ; and the 



rare double variety. All forms of this 

 beautiful plant may be used with excellent 

 effect. It grows freely in grass not mown 

 early, and is therefore admirable for the 

 wild garden ; its various forms are among 

 the most beautiful inhabitants of the 

 hardy bulb garden, and tufts of the 

 chequered or white-flowered variety are 

 among the most graceful plants in cottage 

 gardens. 



F. Moggridgei (Golden Snake 1 s-head}. 

 A beautiful plant with pendulous 

 blossoms, 2 in. long, which are of fine 

 golden-yellow, chequered with brownish- 

 crimson on the inner surface of the bell. 

 It may be seen on its native Alps, at an 

 elevation of five to seven thousand feet, 

 among the short stunted Grass, accom- 

 panied by alpine plants, and giving the 

 slopes the appearance of a sheet of golden 

 bloom. " It is hardy, and flowers early in 

 spring. It is .a lovely flower for planting 

 in the choice bulb portions of the rock- 

 garden, and, when plentiful, for dotting in 

 groups in Grass where it may escape the 

 mower. 



F. pudica is one of the most charming 

 of hardy bulbs, and takes a place among 

 yellow flowers similar to that of the Snow- 

 drop among white ones. It is a native 

 of the Rocky Mountains and the Sierra 

 Nevada of California, where it grows in a 

 dry barren soil. It is one of the principal 

 spring ornaments of the flora, being nearly 

 6 in. high, and having bright golden- 

 yellow flowers, graceful in form and 

 drooping like a Snowflake. It thrives in 

 warm sunny borders of loamy soil. 



F. recurva. The showiest of the 

 Fritillaries, its red colour being as bright 

 as some Lilies, and mixed with bright 

 yellow especially on the inside of the 

 flower. It flowers early in May or 

 towards the end of April. The bulbs 

 consist of a slightly flattened tuberous 

 stock, covered by articulated scales, some- 

 what widely placed, which at first sight 

 resemble those of Lilium philadelphi- 

 cum. A tuft of bright green linear leaves 

 appears above the soil, and from this rises 

 a slender purplish stem, 6 in. to 2^ ft. 

 high, with several pendent Lily -like 

 flowers. It is not robust, and has suc- 

 ceeded only under careful cultivation, 

 growing best in fibry loam, on a warm 

 sunny border, near a wall. In winter it is 

 advisable to cover the bulbs with some 

 protective material or with a hand-light. 

 California. 



F. Sewerzowi. A singular - looking 

 plant, growing from I to i ft. high, 

 having broad glaucous leaves and nod- 

 ding flowers that are greenish outside 



