66 The Mexican Tiger Flotuer, 



of the internode, and at the summit an involucrum, apparently consist- 

 ing of two lanceolate, ancipital, conduplicate, nearly equal valves, of 

 which the exterior is, in fact, the common spathe or involucre, and em- 

 braces the interior with its contents ; the interior valve, which is exactly 

 opposed to the outer one, is the proper spathe of the first flower, and 

 embraces it, together with the spathes and flowers that are to come in 

 succession ; the spathe of the second flower is opposed to that of the 

 first, and placed between it and the pedicel of the first flower ; and so 

 of the rest, every spathe being opposed to the one of the preceding 

 flower, and embraced by it. These spathes are similar in shape, but 

 diminish progressively, and become more membranaceous. The corolla, 

 or flower, is large, and divided into six segments, of which the three 

 outer are urceolate at the base, expanded above, and reflected at the 

 base ; the three inner ones smaller by half, biformed, singularly divided 

 into a lower hastate and an upper ovate division by a depressed inter- 

 section ; the upper division is of the richest scarlet imaginable, varie- 

 gated with a bright golden yellow. The filament is a cuniculated, or 

 piped, triquetral column. The anthers are sessile, erect, bearing their 

 pollen on the outside, conniving at the point, diverging below, to admit 

 the exit of the stigmas. The germen is obtusel} trigonal, three-celled. 

 Style, the length of the filamental column, through the hollow of which 

 it passes. Stigmas, three, filiform, bifid. Capsule, oblong, obtusely 

 trigonal, three-celled. Seeds, in double rows in each cell, and round. 



" Hernandez, a Spanish physician, who was sent to Mexico by 

 Philip II., King of Spain, informs us that it grew wild about the city, 

 and was much cultivated for its excessive beauty, and for the medicinal 

 virtues of its roots, being, as he terms it, ' a frigefacient in fevers,' etc. 



" This flower has no scent, but in splendid beauty it has scarcely any 

 competitor. It is born to display its glory but a few hours, and then 

 literally melts away ; but to compensate for this sudden decline, it con- 

 tinues to produce flowers for several weeks." 



With this detailed and minute description of the Tigridia, Mr. 

 M'Mahon has omitted to make mention of the beautiful dark spots on 

 the petals, which characterize the flower and give to it the specific name. 

 He says, " It is properly a green-house plant, succeeds best in light 

 mould, and is easily propagated by seeds, from which the plants will 

 flower the second year." It succeeds equally well in the open ground. 

 The bulbs should be planted about the middle of May, two inches deep, 

 in any rich, light, garden soil, requiring no particular care. It com- 

 mences to flower in July, and continues to give a succession of bloom 

 until hard frost. In the latter part of the season the flowers remain 



