LILY OF THE VALLEY 589 
rootstocks. If these are potted after the stems have died down in 
autumn, they may be used for forcing at the end of the year. 
LILY OF THE VALLE 
Natural Order LintaceE&. Genus Convalluria 
CONVALLARIA (Latin, convallis, a valley). A genus of one species, 
Convallaria majalis, with a creeping rootstock, but no stem. Leaves two 
or three, oval, lance-shaped, stalked, and sheathing one another. Flowers 
white, fragrant, bell-shaped, with six-lobed mouth, drooping, in a raceme 
borne on a slender scape; April to June. This favourite native plant is 
also distributed throughout the greater part of Europe, Northern Asia, 
and the United States. There are several varieties, including flore 
pleno, with double flowers; rosea, with rose-coloured flowers; and varie- 
gata, with the leaves variegated with yellow. 
If the rootstocks are planted in the front row of a 
shrubbery, where they will get shade and moisture, and 
their leaves be not too much in evidence in summer-time, it will be 
found that the plants will take care of themselves, and rapidly increase. 
An annual top-dressing will greatly help them, and be all the care 
necessary. They may be grown from seeds, but the simplest plan of 
propagation is to take up the rootstocks and separate the crowns. Those 
that are to flower the following year may be readily identified by their 
greater thickness; and if it is desired to have flowers in December 
or January, these may be potted for forcing. The pots or boxes are 
filled with cocoanut-fibre, and the crowns pressed in, with their tips 
exposed ; then cover lightly with moss, keep moist, and subject them 
to a bottom-heat of about 85° in a propagating frame, from which 
light is excluded by mats or boards. When they come into flower they 
are properly potted with care. 
Cultivation. 
TRIPLET. LIbPES 
Natural Order Lintace®. Genus Brodiva 
BropL#A (named in honour of J. J. Brodie, a Scots botamist), A genus 
of about thirty species of hardy or half-hardy bulbous plants, with 
slender leaves, sheathing at the base, and scapes bearing the flowers in 
IV.— 24 
