EEIOSPEEMUM 



THE BULB BOOK 



ERYTHRONIUM 



rosy-pink flowers at the same season, 

 but the blossoms last longer. There 

 is a beautiful white-flowered form, 

 quite as vigorous and free-flowering 

 as the others. 



B. spectabllls {E. caucasicus). — This 

 variable species from Siberia, the 

 Caucasus, etc., has been in cultivation 

 since about the year 1800. It has 

 tufts of narrow, grey-green, strap- 

 shaped leaves, and its pale sulphur- 

 yellow flowers tinted with orange, 

 appear in May and June on stout 

 stalks 2 to 4 ft. high. {Bot. Mag. 

 t. 4870.) A hybrid called vedrariends 

 has been raised between E. spectabilis 

 and E. robustus {Eev. Hort. 1907, 

 229 f.). 



B. Tubersenl. — ^Another grand hy- 

 brid between the yellow E. Bimgel and 

 the white E. hvmalaicus, and inter- 

 mediate in appearance between the 

 two. The flowers are pale yellow. 



B. turltestanlcus. — A native of 

 Turkestan, 2 to 4 ft. high, with broadly 

 linear pointed leaves and reddish- 

 brown flowers, the segments of which 

 are edged with white {Gartenfl. t. 

 997). 



B. 'Warei. — This is probably a 

 natural hybrid between E. Btmgei 

 and E. Olgce. It has very taU spikes 

 (8 ft.), the actual inflorescence being 

 a yard long, and studded with 

 hundreds of coppery-red blossoms 

 tinted with bronze. It comes from 

 Central Asia. {Gard. Chron. 1900, 

 xxvii. 409.) 



BRIOSPBBMTJM (erion, wool ; 

 spermos, a seed; in reference to the 

 woolly seeds). Nat. Ord. Liliacese. — A 

 genus containing over two dozen 

 species of plants, natives of Tropical 

 and Southern Africa, and closely 

 related to Eremurus, and formerly con- 

 fused with Bulbine. They are bulb- 

 ous plants requiring the protection 

 of a warm greenhouse during the 



winter months, but would probably 

 flourish in the open air from June to 

 September. They are easily grown 

 in a compost of sandy loam and peat 

 or leaf -soil, and may be increased by 

 oSsets. 



The following species are met with 

 in botanic gardens : — 



B. Bellendeni (E. latifolium). — This 

 has roundish pointed leaves, cucuUate 

 at the base, and produces its light 

 blue starry blossoms from June to 

 August, on stalks about 1 ft. high 

 {Bot. Mag. t. 1382). 



B. ibrevlpes, from Algoa Bay, 

 grows about li ft. high, and has 

 white flowers tinted with green. 



B. follollferum has green and yel- 

 low flowers {Bot. Rep. t. 521). 



B. Mackeni {Bvlbine Mackeni), 

 from Natal, has rather fleshy, ovate- 

 oblong, bluntish leaves, and bright 

 golden-yellow flowers in July {Bot. 

 Mag. t. 5955). B. latifolium has 

 light blue flowers {Bot. Mag. t. 1382 ; 

 Jax:q. Ic. t. 420); B. parvifolium, 

 dark blue flowers {Jacq. Ic. t. 422) ; 

 and B. pubescens, white and green 

 flowers {Bot. Mag. t. 578). 



ERYTHRONIUM {erythros, red ; 

 referring to the colour of the leaves 

 and flower of first species). Dog's- 

 tooth Violet. Nat. Ord. Liliacese. — 

 A genus of pretty plants with tuni- 

 cated bulbs which produce new ones 

 each year either at the base within 

 the old coats or at the end of long 

 ofishoots, or along a rhizome, some- 

 times in succession for several years. 

 The leaves on the stems are unequal, 

 one being usually narrower and more 

 tapering than the other. The mott- 

 ling varies greatly even in the same 

 species, and may sometimes be absent 

 altogether. The flowers are nodding 

 or drooping, solitary, or two or more 

 in a loose raceme. 



For three hundred years and more 



209 



