TIGRIDIA 



base and 2 or 3 smaller ones higher up: spathes 

 1 or 2, leaf-like, each bearing one or few blossoms. 

 Flowers in shades of yellow, orange or purplish, vari- 

 ously spotted, often very showy; perianth wide-spread- 

 ing, with no tube, the segments 6, in two dissimilar se- 

 ries, connivent into a broad cup at the base; stamens 

 3, the filaments united into a long cylindrical tube in- 

 cluding the style; pistil with 3-loculed ovary, long style 

 with three 2-parted branches. Tigridia Pavonia, from 

 southern Mexico, was in cultivation in Europe in the 

 sixteenth century. L'Obel described it in 1576. The 

 younger Linnaeus referred it to the genus Ferraria, and 

 some of the Tigridias are yet cultivated under that name. 

 Ferraria, however, is a South African genus, and all the 

 parts of the perianth are nearly equal. T. Pavonia is 

 cultivated in many forms, and is the only common spe- 

 cies in gardens. The flowers of all Tigridias are fugi- 

 tive, lasting only for a day. See Baker, Iridese, 67 (1892). 



Tigridias are tender "bulbs" requiring the treatment 

 given Gladiolus. Plant in well-prepared soil when set- 

 tled weather comes, 2 or 3 inches deep and 4 to 8 inches 

 apart. The principal blooming period is July and Aug- 

 ust. Allow the corms to remain in the ground until 

 danger of frost approaches, then store in a dry place 

 where dahlias or gladioli will keep. See that the corms 

 are dry before being placed in storage. Prop, by corm- 

 els and seeds. Best colors are got in warm weather. 



i 



A. Fls. large (often 4 in. or more across): the two 

 roir.t of perianth-segments very dissimilar: stig- 

 mas decurrent. (Tigridia proper.) 



Pavonia, Ker-Gawl. TIGER FLOWER. SHELL-FLOWER. 

 Fig. 2512. Erect, usually unbranched, 1% to 2% ft. tall, 

 glabrous, with several sword-shaped, strongly plicate 

 long-pointed leaves, the spathe-leaves 3-5 in. long: fls. 

 produced in succession through the warm season, very 

 large and showy, in some forms 5 and 6 in. across, 

 oddly marked, with a cup-shaped or saucer-shaped cen- 

 ter and wide-spreading limb formed by the obovate 

 outer segments which are bright red on the limb, and 

 purple, yellow or red-spotted on the claw; inner seg- 

 ments panduriform (fiddle - shaped), about half the 

 length of the outer ones, the blade ovate-acute, orange- 

 yellow and copiously spotted. Mex. and Guatemala. 

 B.M. 5.'52 (as Ferraria Tigridia). I.H. 38:142. Var. 

 conchifldra, Hort. ( T. conchifldra, Sweet), has bright 

 yellow flowers. Var. Watkinsoni, Hort. (var. aiirea, 

 Hort. T. conchifldra Watkinsoni, Paxt.). Raised from 

 seeds of var. conchiflora pollenized by T. Pavonia, 

 before 1840, by J. Horsefield, Manchester, England. 

 Horsefleld is quoted as follows by Paxton: "In habit 

 and strength this hybrid resembles T. Pavonia, the 

 male parent; but in color and the markings of the 

 flower it resembles T. conchiflora, the female parent; 

 the large outer sepals, however, are of a very deep yel- 

 low, inclining to orange, and sometimes elegantly 

 streaked with red lines; whilst the spotted center 

 equals, if not surpasses, the brilliancy of either of the 

 species. One of its greatest merits is being so free a 

 bloomer, and as easy to cultivate and increase as T. 

 Pavonia. whereas T. conchiflora is rather delicate, in- 

 creases slowly, and is easily lost." Dutch bulb dealers 

 still offer it. P.M. 14:51. Var. alba. Hort., has white 

 fls., but has red spots in the throat. Var. alba immacu- 

 lata, Hort., is a spotless white variety, a sport from 

 var. itlba. Gn. 49, p. 361. Var. flava, Hort., has pale 

 yellow fls. with red-spotted center. Gn. 50:1074. Var. 

 Canariensis, Hort.. is also a pale yellow-fld. form, but 

 named as if an inhabitant of the Canaries. Var. liitea 

 immaculata, Hort., has pure yellow spotless flowers. 

 Var. rosea. Hort., has rose-colored fls., with yellow va- 

 riegated center. Var. lilacea, Hort., has lilac fls., with 

 spotted center. Gn. 45:955. Var. speciosa, Hort., is a 

 partially dwarf form with deeper red color, the interior 

 of the cup being similar in color to the limb. Described 

 in 1843. Var. grandifldra, Hort., has flowers much like 

 those of T. Pavonia itself except that they are larger 

 and brighter colored. Gn. '45, p. 263. Identical with 

 this, or subtypes of it, are the forms known as \Vheeleri, 

 coccinea, splendens. Most of the marked departures in 

 colors of Tigridia Pavonia are recent. In catalogues 

 the above names often appear as if they were species 

 names. 



TIGRIDIA 



1807 



Pringlei, Wats. Distinguished by Sereno Watson, 

 the author of the species, as follows: "Very closely 

 related to T. Pavonia, and if color alone were to de 

 cide, it might be considered a vnriety of it, though dif- 

 fering markedly even in that respect from the old spe- 

 cies. The base of the sepals is blotched (rather than 

 spotted) with crimson, with a border of orange, the re- 

 flexed blade being of a bright scarlet-red. The petals 

 have the base blotched and coarsely spotted with crim- 

 son, with a well-defined, deeper-colored, brownish mar- 



2512. Tiger-flower Tigridia Pavonia (X K). 



gin, the blade orange, tinged with scarlet, but not at all 

 spotted as in T. Paconia. The more essential differ- 

 ence is in the form of the petals, which have a broadly 

 cordate or reniform base, with a much narrower small 

 triangular - ovate acute blade. The sepals are also 

 smaller and more oblong in outline." Northern Mex. 

 G.F. 1:389. B.M. 7089. Offered to the trade by Hors- 

 ford in 1889. 



114 



