424 AMAKVLLIS FAMILY. 



large, open, bright red flowers marked with dark blotches at the base of 

 the o lower segments. 



G. bidndus. Ait. Leaves about 4, crowded, broad ; stems l'^-2° high ; 

 flowers 4-8, in a lax spike ; flower white, tinged with red, with a curved 

 tube \\' long, the upper segments oblong, and the lower ones oblong- 

 clawed with a reddish blotch. There are white, lilac and pink-flowered 

 varieties. G. puoibunuus and G. SpoFi'onTHiANrs are hybrids of this 

 and G. cardinalis. 



-»- -1- +- Flowers normally in pronounced shades of red or purple. 

 ■*-'■ Loxoer seijments loith a median white line. 



G. Byzantlnus, Miller. Leaves commonly 3, laxly ribbed, about 1° 

 long; stem 1. 1*^-2° high; flowers many in a lax spike which is 6'-9' 

 long ; flower dark purple, the lower 3 segments with a claw as long as the 

 blade, the upper segment slightly imbricated when the flower is fully 

 open, the tube only slightly curved ; filaments shorter than the anthers. 

 Eastern Mediterranean region. The hardiest species. 



G. commOnis, Linn. Leaves 3-4, laxly nerved, a foot or less long; 

 stem l^^-I"^ high ; spike lax, secuud, 4-8-flo\vered ; flower bright purple, 

 smaller than the last, the tube curved, the segments an Inch long and all 

 connivent when the blossom is open, the 3 lower with a long claw ; fila- 

 ments the length of the anthers, or longer. There are white forms. 

 S. Eu. Little planted now. 



++ ++ Lower segments lohite-hlotched. 



G. cardinalis, Curt. Leaves glaucous-green, not rigid ; stem 2°-3° 

 high ; spike 12-20-flowered, in a lax suberect spike ; flower bright scar- 

 let, the tube nearly straight and L]' long, the upper segments oblong- 

 spatulate and the 3 lower .shorter and narrower. Cape of Good Hope. 

 One parent (with G. tristis) of G. Colvillei, a race with bright scarlet 

 nearly erect flowers and oblong acute segments, the lower 3 having a long 

 blotch of yellow at the base. A white-flowered form of this race is in 

 cultivation (known as the Bride). G. cardinalis is also one parent of 

 G. Gandavensis, G. ramosus, and G. pudibundus (see above). 



G. Saundersii, Hook, f . Leaves 4-6, rigid and strongly ribbed ; stem 

 1JP_20 high; spike very lax and 6-8-flowered ; flower bright scarlet, with 

 a'curved tube 1^' or less long, the 3 upper segments oblong-spatulate and. 

 connivent, the 3 lower narrower and shorter, with a large white blotch 

 and scarlet spots. Cape of Good Hope. The G. NanceiXnus type is a 

 hybrid of this and G. Lemoinei (see G. purpureo-auratus). 



CXVII. AMARYLLIDACE^, AMARYLLIS FAMILY. 



Chiefly perennial and glabrous herbs, with leaves and soaps 

 from a bulb, corm, etc., the leaves nerved from the base, and 

 rarely with any distinction of blade and petiole ; the perianth 

 regular or but moderately irregular and colored, its tube ad- 

 herent to the surface of the 3-celled ovary; and 6 stamens 

 with good anthers. Style single. Capsule several- oo-seeded. 

 Bulbs acrid, some of them poisonous. To this family belong 

 many of the choicer bulbs of house culture, only the com- 

 monest here noticed. Flowers often lily-like, but differing in 

 the inferior ovary. 



