Book REVIEWS 



A New Daylily Book 1 



Dr. A. B. Stout, Director of the Laboratories of The N<\\ 

 York Botanical Garden, has devoted many years to the study 

 and hybridization of the daylilies, meaning species and garden 

 varieties of Ilemerocallis, and his new book "Daylilies" brings 

 together his main results. Although not so stated in the book, 

 it is understood that he has actually grown nearly 20,000 seed- 

 lings of hybrid origin. The clones thus produced show great 

 variation in height, time of flowering, and in form, size, and 

 color of their flowers. A notable achievement, from the garden- 

 er's point of view, is the production of pink, red, and maroon 

 shades, a definite break from the yellow, orange, or orange-red 

 tones of the old-fashioned daylilies. The earlier chapters of the 

 book discuss the botanical characteristics of the daylilies and 

 the natural species and their distribution. The artificial key 

 to the diagnostic characters of the thirteen recognized species 

 will attract the attention of systematic botanists. It is of interest 

 to note that two daylilies, presumably introduced from central 

 or eastern Asia, had found their way to western Europe by the 

 time the first herbals and gardening books were being printed. 

 These were the fragrant, early-flowering, seed-producing Lemon 

 Daylily, afterwards named Ilemerocallis flava by Linnaeus, and 

 the summer-flowering Fulvous or Tawny Daylily, H. fulva L., 

 the historic botanical type of which appears to have been a 

 self-unfruitful clone, propagated by vegetative division only. 

 The latter was brought to America by the early settlers and 

 has often persisted by old home-sites and along roadsides in the 

 northeastern United States. Chapter VI on "The horticultural 

 clones of daylilies," containing an alphabetical descriptive list 

 of about 175 clonal varieties, is the longest chapter of the book. 

 A discussion of the heights, colors, odor, freedom and time of 

 flowering, and habits of opening, will prove of much practical 

 value to any who are planning to make use of daylilies in their 

 gardening operations. The author advises the selection of at 



1 Stout, A. B. Daylilies: The wild species and garden clones, both old 

 and new, of the genus Hemerocallis. Pp. i-x+1-119. pi. 1-36. Mr 1934. The 

 Macmillan Company, New York. Price $3.00. 



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