36 PRESENT-DAY GARDENING 



is nearly always defective in its sexual organs or else its 

 pollen appears to be imperfect, with the result that, though 

 large capsules sometimes form and develop, they prove 

 in the end to contain nothing but undeveloped ovules. 

 In Southern Europe, however in the south of France, 

 for example the problem might be solved, for there 

 apparently /. germanica is fertile, to judge from the 

 numerous colour forms of it that may be found in cultiva- 

 tion. It would, for example, be extremely interesting to 

 know the result of crossing /. germanica and /. pallida 

 with pollen of /. variegata and vice versa, for it is almost 

 certain that the garden forms with yellow standards and 

 brown falls are derived from /. variegata, but we do not 

 know the origin of such plants as /. sambucina, I. squalens, 

 and /. lurida, nor even whether they are really good 

 species. 



THE GERMANICA SECTION 



The common purple flag is too well known to need 

 much description, but there are other forms of it, either 

 local or of seedling origin, which deserve to be much better 

 known than they usually are. For instance, a dwarf and 

 rather bluer form comes from Fontarabie, while the giant- 

 flowered macrantha was sent to Foster from Amas in Asia 

 Minor. In colour it also is slightly bluer than the ordinary 

 germanica type. Quite recently MM. Vilmorin-Andrieux 

 of Paris have introduced an improvement even on Amas 

 under the name of Oriflamme. This is indeed a noble plant, 

 growing nearly 3 feet high in good soil, and bearing 

 immense flowers. In colour it differs little, if at all, from 

 the two shades of blue-purple of Amas. 



