CHAMjELIRIUM 



THE BULB BOOK 



CHIONODOXA 



1897, xxii. 357, f.). G. gemmifera is 

 another extremely interesting little 

 species. C. hyhrida is a natural 

 hybrid between C. Sandersoni {Bot. 

 Mag. t. 5792) fertilised with the pollen 

 of G. similis, and is interesting owing 

 to the fact that there is considerable 

 difficulty in placing the waxy pollen 

 masses of one flower on to the stigmas 

 in another (see Gard. Ghron. 1906, 

 xl. 383, ff.). 



In a natural state it would appear 

 that the tubers of these plants are 

 eaten by the natives and wild animals, 

 and it is certainly so recorded of one 

 species, G. escidenta, from the Indian 

 HiUs. 



These plants, if grown at all, require 

 the warmth and protection of a stove 

 or greenhouse, and may be suspended 

 in pots or baskets from the roof. A 

 compost of gritty loam and leaf -mould 

 suits them well, and they may be 

 increased by cuttings of the young 

 shoots placed in sandy soU, and by 

 means of the tubercules that are ' 

 borne on stems of some species like 

 C. Woodi. It would probably be 

 worth while to make garden plants 

 of G. Thwaitesi, C. Gardneri, C 

 Decaisneana, C. pygmaea, and C. 

 elegoMs, all of which have rather large 

 and ornamental flowers, more or less 

 beautifully striped and blotched with 

 distinct colours. 



CHAKLaililRlUM (chamai, dwarf ; 

 lirion, a lily ; in reference to the 

 height). Nat. Ord. Liliacese. — The 

 only species is C. Carollnlanum, an 

 attractive N. American herb, 9 to 12 

 ins. high, having thickish knotty 

 rhizomes and tufts of bright green 

 oblong - elliptic leaves. The small 

 pure white flowers are borne in dense 

 cylindrical racemes in June — the 

 females being borne on one plant, 

 the males on another. 



This charming little plant flourishes 



138 



in cool moist spots in the rock- 

 garden in sandy peat, and may be 

 raised from seeds sown in frames, 

 or by division of the root-stocks 

 in early autumn or spring. 



CHIONODOXA (chion, snow ; doxa, 

 glory; in their native habitats the 

 flowers appear amidst the melting 

 snow). Nat. Ord. Liliaceae. — A small 

 genus of charming bulbous plants 

 closely related to the Squills (Scilla) 

 and Hyacinths. They are natives of 

 the mountains of Crete and Asia 

 Minor, where in the early spring the 

 beautiful starry blossoms appear in 

 profusion as the snows begins to melt. 

 This fact so impressed the French 

 botanist Boissier, who discovered G. 

 LucilicB at an elevation of 7000 ft. in 

 1842 in Asia Minor, that he coined 

 the above generic name, the literal 

 translation of which — Glory of the 

 Snow — has now become so well known 

 in British gardens. 



Chionodoxas are perfectly hardy in 

 our climate, and as they are amongst 

 the earliest and loveliest of early 

 spring flowers, the bulbs should be 

 planted in the autumn in hundreds 

 and thousands if possible. They are 

 suitable for almost any part of the 

 flower - garden, but are particularly 

 charming when used for naturalising 

 in the grass, for massing in the 

 rockery, and for planting beneath 

 such early flowering deciduous shrubs 

 as the Golden Bells (Forsythias), 

 the Witch Hazels (Hamamelis), the 

 Almonds, the Magnolias, Ghent 

 Azaleas, Cherries, Plums, etc., etc., 

 that are now such a feature of every 

 large garden. With other suitable 

 bulbous plants, such as Narcissm 

 minimus and the various Snowdrops, 

 the Chionodoxas form an excellent 

 contrast, and produce a delightful 

 effect during the dullest season of the 

 year. They are not difficult to grow, 



