LYCOPODIUM 



LYCORIS 



1933 



obscilnim, Linn. {L. dendrMenm, Michx. L. ja- 

 lionicum, Tluinb.). Fip;. 2236. Sts. 6-12 in. hiRh, much- 

 inanrlioil, forming a somewhat troo-likc growth: Iv.s. 

 loosf, oroct : spikes erect, ' 2-I .''2 in- long. Temp. N . Araer. 

 to Japan. (i.W. 9, p. 520. — The common ground-i)ino. 



(•(•<■. N(.s. (main ones) inde-trailing, witli erect branches. 



annotinum, Linn. Sts. trailing, often several feet 

 long, with nmnerous ascending branches 6-8 in, high, 

 wliich bear sessile, solitary sjiikes. Arctic and North 

 'I'cinperate Zones of both hemispheres. 



clavatum, Linn. Fig. 2236. Main st. trailing to the 

 lengt li of several feet, usually much branched : .spikes 1-4 

 on an elongated peduncle. Arctic and Xortli Temperate 

 regions of both hemispheres. — The common club-moss. 



AA. Lvs. 4-^anked, on fan-like branches. 



complanatum, Linn. Fig. 2236. Sts. trailing on the 

 surface of tlie ground: branches spreading out in a 

 liorizontal plane: lvs. of the under side of sts. reduced 

 to slender, spreading, cuspidate apices: first and second 

 forks of peduncles approximate. Northern hemisphere. 

 — L. Chamacuparissus, R. Br., is an allied species, with 

 sts. growing underground. L. M. Underwood. 



LYCORIS (named probably after a nereid in Greek 

 mythologj'). Amaryllidacex. Attractive amaryllis- 

 like bulbous plants 

 from China and 

 Japan. 



From Amarjdlis, 

 the genus is sepa- 

 rated by technical 

 characters of the fl., 

 which has few rather 

 than many ovules in 

 a cell, and by black 

 rather than green 

 seeds. Perianth fun- 

 nel-shaped, some- 

 what irregular, with a 

 short cylindrical tube 

 enlarged at the top, 

 sometimes with scales 

 in the throat; segms. 

 oblanceolate, clawed; 

 stamens inserted near 

 the throat, the fila^ 

 ments long and dec- 

 linate; ovary 3- 

 celled, the style fili- 

 form, the stigma 

 minute and capitate: 

 bulb tunicated, short-necked: peduncle solid: lvs. 

 linear or strap-shaped: umbel many-fid., bearing 

 red or yellow blooms. — Species about a half-dozen. 

 M least two species are hardy in New England. 

 Two bloom in summer and two in early autumn. 

 Two have red fls., one has lilac or purple fls., one 

 yellow or orange. Three have the perianth-scgins. 

 more or less recurved and fluted or crisped at the margin. 

 In all cases the fls. appear without foliage, being borne 

 on a scape 1-3 ft. long, in umbels of 4-12 fls., each .3-4 

 in. across. The white filaments and yellow antliers are 

 conspicuous features. The lvs. make their growth, die 

 down, and after a long rest the bulbs .send u]) fl. -stalks 

 alone. These plants are highly esteemed in China 

 and Japan, and bulbs are constantly sent to the 

 western world, but with us they seem to be wayward 

 and uncertain, particularly as to the time of blooming. 

 L. aurea reverses the custom of nature. It rests in the 

 wet season and flowers in the drj' season. How the 

 bulbs can remain dormant during the early Chinese 

 summer, with the thermometer at 8.5° in the shade and 

 a yearly rainfall of KK) in., is a mystery. Botanically 

 this genus is placed next to Hippeastrum, an .\merican 



2236. Species of Lycopodium: 1, L. lucidulum; 2, h. complanattun; 

 J, L. obscurum; 4, L, clavatum. {After Knobel) 



genus, in which the .seeds are numerous in a locule, and 



usually flat, while in Lycoris they are few in a locule 

 and turgid. Horticulturally Lycoris is most nearly 

 comparable to Nerine, but the seeds of tht^ former are 

 black and of the latter green; in Nerine the tube is 

 nearly or quite wanting, stamens inserted at base of 

 segms., filaments thickened at base and 3 shorter, style 

 obscurely tricuspidate, fls., red. 



For many years, L. aurea has been cultivated in 

 American gardens, although it is not a common plant. 

 More recently, with large importations of L. radiala, the 

 interest in the genus has widened. These species have 

 the handsomer flowers, and are preferably cultivated 

 under glass, although the bulbs are probably hardy in 

 warm protected borders; at least they have more than 

 once been frozen in pots at Elizabeth, New Jersey, 

 without apparent harm. In its habitat in China, L. 

 aurea rests in the wet season, and the most success in 

 culture has been found in growing it in a warmhouse, 

 taking care to cultivate the foliage and rest the bulbs in 

 warmth and moist earth. The same general directions 

 may be followed for L. radiala. As with all bulbs, a 

 vigorous growth of foliage is essential to the future 

 appearance of flowers. L. squamigera amd L. sanguinea 

 are perfectly hardy; their leaves appear in March, 

 mature and disappear. The flowers come in the nature 

 of a surprise in August. The former .species has a 



columnar scape 2 to 

 3 feet tall and a 

 cluster of large, 

 amaryllis - like flow- 

 ers, of a bright rosy 

 purple, rather attrac- 

 tive in the back row 

 of a garden, but not 

 of first rank. L. san- 

 guinea has a scape 

 II2 to 2 feet, with 

 small orange-red 

 flowers, dull and curi- 

 ous rather than strik- 

 ing. The two former 

 species have the 

 beauty of the nerines, 

 but the two latter 

 have none of this re- 

 semblance. (J. N. 

 Gerard.) 



A. Blooming in July 

 and Aug. 

 n. FU. red. 

 sanguinea, Maxim: 

 Bulb ovoid, 1 in. diam.; neck 1-2 in. long: lvs. linear, 

 fls. red, 4-6 in an umbel on a peduncle 12-18 in. high; 

 tube J-iin. long; stamens shorter than the perianth- 

 segms. Japan. — The only species with segms. neither 

 wavy or reflexed. Statements that the blooming period 

 is May and June are probably erroneous. A var. alba 

 is advertised. It is said that the lvs. of this and the 

 next appear in March; also that the fls. of L. sanguinea 

 are dull brownish red. 



BB. Fls. rosy lilac. 



squamigera, Maxim. (Amaryllis Hdllii, Hort.). 

 Fig. 2237. Bulb globose: lvs. produced in spring, 9-12 

 lines wide: fls. rosy lilac, banded yellow; segms. curving, 

 much narrowed below and forming a tube nearly an 

 inch long with truncate scales in the throat (whence the 

 name). Japan. B.M. 7547. G.C. III. 21 :137. A.G. 

 25:119. G.F. 3:177 (reduced in Fig. 2237).— The only 

 fragrant kind. Var. purpiirea, Hort., intro. about 1898. 

 This species is hardy in New England. It was intro. 

 into this country by Geo. R. Hall, Bristol, R. I. (see p. 

 1578 for account of Dr. Hall). Apparently the most 

 popular species. 



