202 FLOWERING PLANTS OF THE RIVIERA 



O. arabicum L. Leaves broadly linear, bracts ovate-lanceolate. Flowers 

 very large, dirty white on both sides, in a loose corymb. A robust plant of 

 doubtful nativity on this coast, though sometimes found in sandy or stony places 

 in April or May. 



O. nutans L. A robust plant 1-2 ft. high. Leaves broadly linear, bracts 

 lanceolate. Flowers white within, greenish-white outside, bell-shaped in a long 

 one-sided spike. 



Fields and vineyards, rare. April-May. 



O. narbonense L. Plant 1-2 ft. high. Leaves linear, shorter than the 

 stiff stem. Flowers rather small, pure white but with a pale green stripe above 

 (i.e. inside) very apparent beneath (i.e. outside). Flowers in a long spike. 

 Bracts as long as the pedicels. 



Hill-sides, fields, and vineyards on the littoral. May-June. 



O. pyrenaicum L. Much like the last but sometimes taller (3 ft.). Leaves 

 often dead at flowering time. Flowers greenish-white, becoming yellow on 

 drying. Bracts shorter than pedicels. Style as long as the stamens. 



Woods, fields, and stony hills. May-June. Very local. 



URGINEA Steinheil. 



U. maritima Baker. A tall robust plant 3 ft. or more high. Bulb very 

 large, oval. Leaves coming before the flowers, broadly strap-shaped, entire, erect, 

 shorter than the stem. Flowers whitish, very numerous, in a long dense spike. 

 Pedicels twice length of flowers. Capsule large, obovate-trigonous. 



Sea-sands and banks, rare. July -October. La Seyne near Toulon. 



U. undulata Steinh. (with very sinuate leaves) has been recorded from 

 the Var by Robert and Hanry, but doubted by subsequent botanists. 



SCILLA L. SQUILL. 



S. autumnalis L. Bulb large, oval, pale. Scape 6-12 in. high, appearing 

 after the linear leaves have withered away. Flowers small, erect, pale violet- 

 blue or lilac, in a spiked raceme, without bracts. 



Hills, dry, stony places, and pine-woods, common. September-October. 



S. hyacinthoides L. (Plate XXVII). A robust plant 2-3 ft. high, with large 

 bulb. Leaves numerous, linear-lanceolate. Flowers violet-blue, ivery numerous in 

 a long, somewhat conical spike. Peduncles spreading, purplish. Bracteoles very 

 short, truncate, coloured. Anthers blue. 



Rocky fields and hills near the coast. April-May. But it rarely blossoms. 

 At Bordighera Mr. Bicknell saw only one blossom in five years, though many 

 terraces were covered with it. 



S. italica L. Plant about a foot high. Bulb small. Scape slender, usually 

 longer than the linear, channelled leaves, 3-6 in number. Flowers light blue, in 

 a short, lax conical raceme, pedicels longer than the flowers. Anthers dark blue. 

 Bracts 2 together. 



Mountain woods and shady ravines in the hills, local. April-May. 



S. bifolia L. This beautiful bright blue Squill, so common in the lowland 

 woods of Switzerland in the spring, is found in some of the mountains above 

 Menton, etc., and flowers in May or June. Leaves 2, very rarely 3, broadly linear, 

 concave at the top. Bracts solitary, very small, soon falling off. 



ENDYMION Dum. 



E. patulus Dum. This rare plant was found by the late M. Albert on 

 grassy slopes of the Real near Sollies-Ville in 1884. Flowers erect, violet-blue. 



HYACINTHUS L. 



H. orientalis L. This well-known Hyacinth with white flowers is much 

 cultivated on the French Riviera, and is originally from the East, as its name 

 implies. It has long been naturalized and is often found apparently wild on 

 banks of streams, in ravines, etc. February-April. 



