110 BULBS AND TUBEROUS-HOOTED PLANTS. 



three to four feet high. The bulbs should be planted 

 in the open border, where they can have slight protec- 

 tion, and need only to be taken up when over-crowded. 



G. recurvus (Eecurved). An unassuming yet 

 interesting species. It is a tall, slender-growing plant, 

 producing from two to five violet-purple flowers of small 

 size, tinged with yellow. The sheath is white, mottled 

 with purplish-brown, and is as glossy as the finest porce- 

 lain, which, in a measure, it resembles. It has a fra- 

 grance like that of the Violet. 



G. purpur.eo-auratus. A tall, slender-growing 

 species of very graceful habit, producing freely yellow 

 and purplish flowers. Not remarkable for its beauty 

 so much as because of its parentage of the Lemoine 

 Hybrids; a deservedly popular class, far superior in all 

 the requirements of a desirable flower. 



G. Saundersii. One of the best of the species, 

 and the parent of a new strain, of which we shall have 

 occasion to speak, in noticing hybrids. It is remarkable 

 for its ease of culture, and for its brilliant scarlet flow- 

 ers, with conspicuous pure white centers. It grows 

 about two feet high, giving a fair sized spike of blooms. 



G. suaveolens (Fragrant). If the Gladiolus were 

 grown for fragrance alone, this species would be the one 

 most sought. Its flowers are pale yellow, or straw col- 

 ored, the upper petals dotted with red. It is only 

 adapted for greenhouse culture. 



G. undulatus (Wavy) . This is a dwarf-growing 

 species, producing pale yellow flowers with a broad red 

 stripe through the center of each petal, on a slender 

 stem. Earely cultivated. 



G. viperatus (Yiper). It derives its common 

 name from the resemblance of its flowers to a viper's 

 head. This species is more singular than beautiful. 

 The very fragrant flowers are greenish-gray, with dark 

 stripes. 



