THE AUTUMN CROCUS 137 



of the seed-head in the spring, he is right as regards 

 the nature of the leaves ; though he is again wrong 

 in the autumn, and this time as regards the nature 

 of the flower. For the Colchicum is not a Crocus. 

 Although its magenta-pink blossom is of Crocus- 

 like form, it has six stamens and three styles with 

 which the humble-bee may busy himself; whereas 

 the Crocus has but three stamens and one style. 

 There does exist a purple autumnal Crocus — Ci^ocus 

 nudiflorus, indigenous to England, and with the 

 same habit of flowering and producing its seed as 

 the Colchicum's — but this and the Colchicum be- 

 long to different natural orders. 



The Colchicum is a member of the Lily family, 

 and, as such, is related to some of the most distin- 

 guished members of the flower- world. For this 

 reason, too, it is allied to such diverse plants as 

 the Herb Paris, the Lily-of-the- Valley, the 

 Asparagus, and the Spiked Star of Bethlehem 

 {Ornithogalum py7'encdcum), an indigenous English 

 plant whose young spring shoots are sold and 

 eaten in Bath as " French " Asparagus. It has 

 also as blood-relation the Onion and the Garlic, 

 which, according to Professor G. S. Boulger, " were 

 given divine honours by the ancient Egyptians " ; 

 also the curious Butcher's Broom or Knee Holly, 



