ORNITHOGALUM 



midale seera to be the most desirable. These are the 

 best to place among shrubbery and leave undisturbed 

 for yt-ars. A particularly robust clump of O. tati folium is 

 rtri.rih.l a'. In aring Over a hundred spikes of flowers 

 on stalks ;t ft. hiirh. O. pyramidale is here doubtfully 

 rif.ir.il t.. ('. .V<irbonen.ie, but there is no doubt about 

 the beauty ot 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. nrulutnm, but the former 

 has been more pictured aii.l Iii- ,i _i. m. r- number of 

 almirers. When well grown i! , : i, ' i In- showiest 

 plant of thi. whole genus, d. \ ihkle plant. 



U grows to perfection in (;i,. :,,-.,. Malks :t ft. 



high and fls. 2 iu. across, burn, m ini , ini.innal 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 difficulty possibly to be associated with their 

 iusufiicient 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 l)ulbs, and after 

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

 signs of growth plenty of water shouM be given, and 

 occasional weak manure water." It is suspected that 

 there are two varieties, .i -h\ M. mi ing and a free-bloom- 

 ing kind. This nia\ ■ : f its reputation for 



capriciousness. O.'/ ■ i nrtogrowand earlier 



tobloom. Withgentl. f"r-r,_ i; , : 1... hail for Christinas 



ORNITHOGALUM 



1175 



It wa 



without finding it offered. 0.<::i ifl.ilii,,, i, sumlailj lar. 

 in trade catalogues, but it is still cultivated in dwelling 

 houses under the erroneous name of .Sea Onitm. Thi 

 Sea Onion is Prgiiica maritima, a plant of the saim 

 general appearance but distinguishable in leaf, flowe 

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

 wide: raceme 1^2-2 ft long: bracts 3-4 lines long: fls 

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

 Ornithoffatitm caudatum has Ivs. 1-1^ in. wide; 



J^-1 ft. long: bracts B-9 lii 

 green: seeds not crowded no 

 Perhaps the best purely h< 

 group are to be found in The 

 hv Goldring in Gn. 49, p. 308; 

 in Gn. 41, p. 376. 



Is. keeled with 



ardy kinds by "D.K." 



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

 B. Pistil prominent, shining, greenish black. 

 Artibicum, Linn. Fig. 1594. Bulb ovoid, 1-1!^ in. 

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

 Ittiig. ■*4-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 distiuctlv broader, but not quad- 

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

 Gn. 49:1003 (good). B.M. 3179 and B.R. 11:906 (as O. co- 

 rnmbo.ium). 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 flon-ers in a cluster Ig-SO. 

 thyrsoldes, Jacq. Bulb globose, 1^-2 in. thick: Ivs. 

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

 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 



the base and bicuspidate. S. Af r. B.M. 1164 (fls. white, 

 with a brown eye). 



Var. atureum. Ait. (O. niireum, Curt.), has golden 

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



Var. flay^Bcens, Ker., has pale yellow fls. B.R. 

 4:305. 



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



latiidliiun, 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 i nrerse I y pyramidal in outline. 



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

 lvs. 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 12-20. 



timbell&tum, Linn. Star of Bethlehem. Bulb sub- 

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

 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 S-12. 



ezsc&pum, Tenore. Bulb ovoid, %-! in. thick, not 

 proliferous : lvs. 5-6, narrowly lioear, 4-6 in. long, 1-2 

 lines wide, glabrous, spotted, disappearing after the 

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

 gular in outline, \% in. long, 2;-'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. Ornithogal 



AAA. Flowers more or i 



with yreei 



B. Blossoms nodding. 



nilitans, Linn. Bulb ovoid, 1-1^ in. thick, producing 



offsets freely: lvs. pale green, 1-1)4 ft. long, 3-6 lines 



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



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



