ORNITHOGALUM 



middle seem to be the most desirable. These are the 

 best to place among shrubbery and leave undisturbed 

 for years. A particularly robust clump of O. latifoUutn is 

 recorded as bearing over a hundred spikes of flowers 

 on stalks 3 ft. high. O. pyramidale is here doubtfully 

 referred to O. Narbonense, but there is no doubt about 

 the beauty of the plant which English gardeners call O. 

 pyramidale. For formal beauty it is hard to excel. It 

 sometimes makes a perfect pyramid of starry white 

 flowers, the spike 12-18 in. long, the fls. an inch across, 

 and a hundred or more fls. in a spike. 



The tender kinds in cultivation are chiefly from the 

 Cape of Good Hope, though O. Arabicum is found in 

 the Mediterranean region. Connoisseurs are divided be- 

 tween O. Arabicum and O. revolutum, but the former 

 has been more picttired and has a greater number of 

 admirers. When well grown it Is probably the showiest 

 plant of the whole genus. O. Arabicum is a fickle plant. 

 It grows to perfection in Guernsey, with stalks 3 ft. 

 high and fls. 2 in. across, borne in free, informal clus- 

 ters. The tall-spiked waving masses of white remain in 

 good condition for some weeks. In Guernsey they are 

 esteemed for cut-flowers. The white of the large, broad- 

 petaled fls. is set off by a gleaming black pistil, which 

 makes a striking and pretty feature. O. Arabicum is 

 suitable for pot culture in northern conservatories, but 

 perhaps the best way to grow it is in quantity in a frame. 

 The bulbs have a way of remaining dormant for a season 

 or two, a difficiilty possibly to be associated with their 

 insufficient ripening. W. Goldring writes : "To keep 

 the pots with the bulbs in them in a greenhouse and 

 not watered is not sufficient; they should be kept in a 

 dry atmosphere, and if baked in the sun, so much the 

 better. Autumn is the best time to get bulbs, and after 

 potting they should be kept dry till spring, and with the 

 signs of growth plenty of water should be given, and 

 occasional weak manure water." It is suspected that 

 there are two varieties, a shy-blooming and a free-bloom- 

 ing kind. This may explain some of its reputation for 

 capriciousness. O. thyrsoides is easier to grow and earlier 

 to bloom. With gentle forcing it may be had for Christmas 

 in a moderately warm house. O. revolutum is very dis- 

 tinct by having re volute instead of spreading segments. 

 It was cult, by a Cincinnati amateur in 1883, but to-day 

 one may search a dozen of the largest bulb catalogues 

 without finding it offered. O. caudatum is similarly rare 

 in trade catalogues, but it is still cultivated in dwelling 

 houses under the erroneous name of Sea Onion. The 

 Sea Onion is Urginea maritima, 'a plant of the same 

 general appearance but distinguishable in leaf, flower 

 and fruit as follows: Urginea maritima has Ivs. 2-3 in. 

 wide: raceme l%-2 ft long: bracts 3-4 lines long: fls. 

 white with a brown keel: seeds crowded, disk-like. 

 Ornithogalum caudatum has Ivs. 1-1% in. wide; raceme 

 3^-1 ft. long: bracts 6-9 lines long: fls. keeled with 

 green: seeds not crowded nor compressed. 



Perhaps the best purely horticultural reviews of this 

 group are to be found in The Garden : the tender kinds 

 by Goldring in Gn. 49, p. 308; the hardy kinds by D.K." 

 in Gn. 41, p. 376. 



A. Fls. self-colored, both front and back. 

 B. Pistil prominent, shining, greenish black. 



Arabicum, Linn. Fig. 1594. Bulb ovoid, 1-1% in. 

 thick, proliferous : Ivs. 5-8,' glaucous green, 1-1% ft. 

 long, %-l in. wide: scape 1-2 ft. long: raceme 6-12-fld., 

 roundish or deltoid in outline, 3-5 in. long and wide: 

 fls. self-colored, odorous; filaments lanceolate, not cus- 

 pidate, alternate ones distinctly broader, but not quad- 

 rangular on the base. Mediterranean region. B.M. 728. 

 IGn. 49: 1063 (good). B.M. 3179 and B.R. 11:906 (as O. co- 

 rymbosum). G.C. II. 19:665. Gn. 22, p. 249; 32, p. 145; 

 41, p. 377; 48, p. 309. -The pistil is a beautiful and strik- 

 ing feature. 



BB. Pistil not a striking feature, dull, smaller. 

 c. Number of flowers in a cluster 12-30. 



thyrsoides, Jacq. Bulb globose, l%-2 in. thick: Ivs. 

 5-6, lanceolate, 6-12 in. long, 1-2 in. wide: scape %-!% 

 ft. high: raceme 12-30-fld., dense, triangular in outline, 

 3-4 in. wide: fls. self-colored; filaments alternately 

 longer and lanceolate, alternately shorter, dilated above 



ORNITHOGALUM 



1175 



the base and bicuspidate. S. Afr. B.M. 1164 (tts. white, 

 with a brown eye). 



Var. aureum, Ait. (O. aureum, Curt.), has golden 

 yellow fls. B.M. 190 (fls. saffron). 



Var. flavescens, Ker., has pale yellow fls. B.R. 

 4:305. 



CC. Number of flowers in a cluster 50-100. 

 latifdlium, Linn. Lvs. 5-6, ascending, glabrous, 

 fleshy herbaceous, broadly lorate, 12-15 in. long, l%-2 

 in. wide in cult. : filaments about equal, lanceolate. 

 Tauria, Caucasus, Kurdistan, Arabia, Egypt. B.M. 876. 

 B.R. 23:1978 (fls. green only at tip of keel, and borne 

 in a perfect pyramid). 



AA. Fls. with a green face, the outer segments nar- 

 rowly margined white. 

 B. Cluster inversely pyramidal in outline. 

 tenuifdlium, Guss. Bulb ovoid, 1 in. thick, simple: 

 Ivs. 5-6, narrowly linear, 5-6 in. long, 1-2 lines wide, 

 unspotted: scape 2-3 in. long: raceme 6-10-fld., corym- 

 bose or inversely triangular in outline, 2-3 in. long and 

 wide: pedicels ascending: fls. with outer perianth seg- 

 ments margined white. Mediterranean region. 



BB. Clusters quadrangular in outline. 



C. Number of flowers 12-W. 



umbellatum, Linn. STAR OF BETHLEHEM. Bulb sub- 

 globose, 1 in. thick, bearing numerous bulbils: Ivs. 

 6-9, narrowly linear, 6-12 in. long, 2-4 lines wide, deeply 

 channeled, distinctly spotted white: scape 4-6 in. long: 

 raceme 12-20-fld., quadrangular in outline, 4-6 in. long, 

 6-9 in. wide: lower pedicels in fr. spreading: fls. with 

 outer perianth segments margined white. Mediter- 

 ranean region. Escaped from old gardens in U. S. 



CC. Number of flowers 8-12. 



exscapum, Tenore. Bulb ovoid, %-l in. thick, not 

 proliferous : Ivs. 5-6, narrowly linear, 4-6 in. long, 1-2 

 lines wide, glabrous, spotted, disappearing after the 

 fls.: scape 1-1% in. long: raceme 3-12-fld., quadran- 

 gular in outline, 1% in. long, 2%-3 in. wide : lowest 

 pedicels in fr. deflexed : bracts %-l in. long, shorter 

 than the pedicels: fls. with outer perianth segments 

 margined white: style very short. S. Eu. 



1594. Ornithogalum Arabicum (X%). 



AAA. Flowers more or less white-faced, but keeled 



with green on the back. 



B. Blossoms nodding. 



nutans, Linn. Bulb ovoid, 1-1% in. thick, producing 

 offsets freely: Ivs. pale green, 1-1% ft. long, 3-6 lines 

 wide, disappearing after the fls.: scape 8-12 in. long: 

 raceme 3-12-fld., oblong-cylindrical in outline pedicels 



