HEDYCHIUM 



THE BULB BOOK 



HEDYCHIUM 



the under slightly silky. The hand- 

 some sweet-scented flowers appear in 

 autumn, being pale yellow and pure 

 white with red filaments. {Bot. 

 Mag. t. 2969.) 



H. ansustifolium. — This is now 

 considered to be a variety of //. 

 coccineiim. It grows 3 to 6 ft. high, 

 and has smooth, narrow, lance- 

 shaped leaves, a foot or more long 

 and 1 to 2 ins. broad. The small red 

 or scarlet flowers appear from about 

 June to August {£ot. Mag. t. 2078). 

 This species has been crossed with H. 

 Gardneriamim, and has produced a 

 good garden hybrid. 



H. carneum. — ^A plant 3 to 4 ft. 

 high, with slender pointed leaves over 

 1 ft. long, and flesh-coloured scentless 

 flowers about July and August {Bot. 

 Mag. t. 2637). 



H. chrysoleucum. — A pretty species 

 about 5 ft. high, having sweet-scented 

 pure white flowers blotched with 

 orange on the lip and having deep 

 orange filaments {Bot. Mag. t. 4516). 



H. coronarium. — This was the first 

 species of the genus introduced from 

 the East Indies in 1791. It grows 

 about 5 ft. high, and has lance-shaped 

 sheathing leaves, smooth above, 

 downy beneath. The large pure 

 white sweet-scented flowers appear 

 from May to August, and are remark- 

 able for the great size of the lip. 

 {Bot. Mag. t. 70S; Lodd. Bot. Cab. 

 t. 507 ; Hed. lAl. viii. t. 436.) 



The variety flavum is a dwarfcr 

 plant with bright orange flowers {Bot. 

 Mag. t. 2039). 



H. elllptlcum. — A Nepalese species, 

 3 to 5 ft. high, having broadly lance- 

 shaped almost elliptic leaves. The 

 flowers appear about August and 

 September, the outer segments being 

 yellow, the inner ones pure white 

 with a deeply cleft lip. {Lodd. Bot. 

 Gab. t. 1881 ; Gartenfl. t. 1201 ; 

 Jioscoe, Scit. t. 55.) 



H. Slwesi. — A Himalayan species 

 closely related to U. coronarium, but 

 distinguished from that species by 

 having larger bracts and rich golden- 

 yellow flowers {Gard. Chron. 1894, 

 xvi. 152). 



H. Grardnerianum. — This magnifi- 

 cent species has been in cultivation 

 since 1810. It grows 3 to 6 ft. high, 

 and has smooth, broadly lance- 

 shaped, stem-clasping leaves in two 

 rows. The large sweet-scented lemon- 

 yellow flowers appear during the 

 summer months in erect cylindrical 

 spikes, 12 to 18 ins. long {Bot. Beg. 

 t. 774; Bot. Mag. t. 6913). Garden 

 hybrids have been obtained by cross- 

 ing H. Gardnerian/um with H. coron- 

 arium, one called //. Wilheanum 

 being described in the Gard. Chron. 

 1894, xvi. 276. Another called Moorei 

 is described in 1900, xxviii. 142. 



H. gracile. — This species comes 

 from the Sikkim Himalayas and 

 Khasia mountains, and grows 2 to 3 

 ft. high. The sharp-pointed leaves 

 are 6 to 9 ins. long and 2 to 3 ins. 

 broad, narrowed into a stalk at the 

 base, and the white flowers with red 

 filaments appear during the summer 

 and autumn. {Bot. Mag. t. 6638.) 

 There is a variety called glaucvm. 



H. peregrlnum. — A native of 

 Madagascar, 3 to 5 ft. high, with 

 elliptic-pointed leaves rounded at the 

 base, and clear yellowish-green flowers 

 with a white lip and pale brown bracts. 



H. speolosum. — A native of Sylhet, 

 having oblong lance-shaped leaves, 

 and pale sulphur - yellow flowers 

 borne on spikes 6 to 12 ins. long 

 {Plant. As. Bar. iii. t. 285). 



H. spioatum. — This species grows 

 about 3 ft. high, and has linear lance- 

 shaped leaves, smooth above, downy 

 beneath, and clusters of white sweet- 

 scented flowers washed with rose, the 

 broad lip being deeply cleft {Bot. 

 Mag. t. 2300). 



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