476 



Iridacete Gladiolus. 



purple. Of the far more magnificent South African species we 

 must limit ourselves to those more generally cultivated, and 

 from which the numerous garden varieties have been raised : 

 G. cardinalis, about 2 feet high, with red flowers, the inferior 

 petals bearing in the centre a white or rose spot encircled with 

 purple. G. psittaclnus, upwards of 3 feet high, distinguished 

 by its long spike of yellow flowers, whose lower 

 petals are spotted with rusty purple ; G. ringens, 

 a superb plant with large slate-coloured flowers 

 exhaling an odour of violets, and finely pitted and 

 striped with violet, the lower petals with yellow 

 spots ; G. cuspidatus, large creamy-white flowers 

 bearing brown spots on the lower petals. G. un- 

 dulatus, white rayed with purple in the centre ; 

 G. laccatus, rose-coloured ; G. ramosus, flesh- 

 coloured ; and G. floribundus, purple spotted 

 with white. The species mostly employed in 

 hybridising are G. cardinal is, G. floribundus, 

 and G. psittaclnus, and they have given birth to 

 innumerable beautiful varieties either direct from 

 seed or by intercrossing. Among the most not- 

 able is the G. Gandavensis (fig. 231), raised in 

 the garden of a celebrated Belgian amateur, the 

 Duke of Arenberg. It is reputed to be the result 

 of a cross between G. cardinalis and G. psitta- 

 emus. The flowers in this variety are of a bright 

 vermilion shaded with rose, and yellow blotches 

 on the lower petals. The anthers are of a deep 

 violet colour, forming an agreeable contrast with 

 the colours of the perianth. This and G. Brench- 

 leyensis, a beautiful scarlet, may be considered 

 as standard varieties, and they are both extensively employed 

 for planting in large beds. 



10. PARDANTHUS. 



A small genus of tuberous-rooted herbs from Eastern Asia, 

 with equitant ensiform leaves, branched stems, spathaceous 

 bracts, and orange-coloured flowers spotted with purple-brown. 

 Perianth-segments equal, spreading, narrowed at the base ; tube 

 very short. Stigmas petaloid. Name from TrapSos, a leopard, 

 and avOos, a flower, in allusion to the spotted flowers. 



1 . P. Chinensis, This grows from 18 to 24 inches high, with 



