68 NOTES ON LILIES 



magnificent ornamental plants, Speciosum and Longiflorum, now often seen 

 in our gardens. 



"Thus, the number of species known during the first few years of the 

 present century had almost doubled since Linnasus wrote his last general 

 treatise. The impetus had been given, and from that moment the results 

 became more and more apparent. From Japan, a land which may be 

 regarded as specially favoured in respect of these plants, an English sea- 

 man, Captain Kirkpatrick, who touched there in 1804, brought two new 

 species, one of them the beautiful Tiger Lily, L. Tigrinum Gawl, which 

 by its hardihood and the brilliancy of its cinnabar-red blooms, spotted over 

 with deep reddish brown, has become a common garden flower ; the other, 

 with large white flowers of an agreeable perfume, was subsequently named 

 by M. Planchon, Odoratum (or Odorum) * But the chief importer of Japanese 

 Lilies was Dr. F. von Siebold, of Wurzberg, who visited Japan between 

 1823 and 1830, in the capacity of physician to the Dutch embassy, and 

 up to his death, which occurred in 1866, never ceased to collect and to 

 encourage the collection of these plants for introduction into Europe. To 

 him we owe the production, or at any rate the knowledge, of Callosum, 

 Sieb., with pretty small red punctuated flowers ; of Thunberg's Lily, 

 L. Thuntergianum, Roem and Sch., a fine species, of many varieties, with 

 large flowers, sometimes deep red, sometimes apricot-yellow, sometimes 

 orange-red, always more or less spotted (to which I believe, have been 

 assigned as varieties Fulgens, Ch. Morr., Venuslum, Hort. ber.) ; and 

 Eximium, Court., with very large white flowers, like those of Longiftorum 

 Takesima, which last is also due to Von Siebold; likewise two elegant plants 

 with single flowers of medium size, variegated yellow, orange, or brownish 

 red, of which (one) Partheneion, Sieb. and W. (" Lis des Vierges") is 

 only a variety of the other, Coridion, Sieb. and W., a poppy-coloured Lily ; 

 Puniceum, Sieb. and W., which is another form of Unifolium^ Fisch. ; and 

 lastly a fine plant, still rare in Europe, Alternans, Sieb., with orange 

 flowers spotted with yellow and streaked with brown. f 



his "Flora Japonica," p. 133, under the name of L. Japonicum. In the catalogue 

 of his collection, M. Leichtlin indicates by a ? that he is by no means certain of the 

 specific identity of the Lily cultivated by him under this name ; in truth the characters 

 by which Thunberg distinguishes his species, are deficient in exactness, while the bad 

 figure which he gives certainly does not dissipate the doubts engendered by his description. 

 It is even in some respects in opposition to his text, for it represents the segments of the 

 perianth as oblong-lanceolate, acutely pointed and acuminate, while in the text they are 

 described as elliptic. On the whole, according to this botanist, L. Japonicum is a plant 

 about 2 feet high, with a rounded glabrous stem, bearing a small number of alternate 

 rarely opposite leaves, which are very shortly stalked, lanceolate acuminate, glabrous, 

 pale on the lower surface, which is marked by five prominent nerves. The stem is 

 terminated by a single, whitish, bell-shaped flower, about 3 inches long. This Lily is 

 described as very beautiful by Thunberg, who add*, that while spontaneous at Miaco and 

 elsewhere, it is often cultivated by the Japanese as an ornamental plant. From an 

 inspection of Thunberg's dried specimens in the herbarian, at Upsala, Mr. Baker considers 

 this name and description to apply to the plant introduced by me in 1870, under the 

 name of L. Krameri. 



* This, we believe, is the form re-introduced by us in 1870, as L. Japonicum 

 Colchesterii. 



t This form, we believe, to be better known as Thuiibcrgianum Alternans, now not 

 uncommon. 



