148 ENGLISH BOTANY. 



tuber perishing after flowering. Stem cylindrical, shorter than the 

 leaves, simj^le. Leaves appearing in winter and dying off in early 

 summer, very long, slender, sharply quadrangular, tapering to the 

 point, dull glaucous green, dim. Spathe terminal, elongate, acuminate, 

 herbaceous, with an extremely narrow scarious margin. Flowers 

 solitary. Pedicel much longer than the ovaiy when the flower is 

 expanded. Free portion of the perianth tube narrowly cylindrical, 

 shorter than the ovary. Sepals oblong-oblanceolate, the claw broad, 

 sliglitly folded, erect, constricted where it is joined to the lamina ; 

 lamina much shorter and scarcely broader than the claw, oval, notched 

 at the apex, sharply reflexed, not bearded. Petals about one-third 

 the length of the sepals, and half the length of the stigmas, erect, 

 lanceolate-spathulate, acuminated into a very slender point. Capsule 

 1 -celled, oblong-fusiform, bluntly trigonous, with six furrows. Seeds 

 subglobular, when dry with a hard fuscous reticulated testa and a 

 small whitish strophiole at the hilum. 



In orchards and hedgebanks. Not native, but said to be naturalised 

 in Cornwall and South Devon. The specimen figured in " English 

 Botany Suppl." was sent by the Rev. Henry Pennick from Penzance, 

 who found the plant in considerable plenty in several places four or 

 five miles apart in that neighbourhood : Mr. F. P. Pascoe assured me 

 it was quite naturalised in that part of Cornwall ; and Mr. T. B. 

 Flower has specimens from Kingsbridge, S. Devon, obtained by him 

 in 18 GO, when the plant was in some abundance there. It is reported 

 from Cork ; but in the " Flora of Cork " it is said to be not even natu- 

 ralised there. 



[England, Ii-eland?] Perennial. Spring. 



Eootstock a cormo-tuber about the thickness of a man's finger, 1^ 

 to 3 inches long, frequently dividing from the base into two or three 

 branches, from the extremity of each of which a stem or tuft of leaves 

 is sent up : close to the apical bud lateral buds are produced, and in 

 autumn the parent tuber dies aAvay, setting free the tubers produced 

 from these buds either separately or connected together at the base. 

 Flowering stem 9 inches to 1 foot high, sheathed at the base, and pro- 

 ducing from the axils of the sheaths several very long tetragonal leaves 

 sheathing at the base, and about twice as long as the flowering stem. 

 Spathe longer than the pedicels, and frequently exceeding the flower. 

 Flowers 1-^ to 2 inches across, remarkable for the claws of the sepals 

 being connivent, and nearly erect. Claw of the sepals pale green, 

 3'ellowish on the back, with a few dark veins ; lamina dull lurid blue, 

 almost black. Petals greenish-white. Stigmas nearly erect, with the 

 lobes acuminate. Seeds rather larger than sweet-pea seeds ; but I have 

 only seen them in a dried condition. 



