BULBOUS PLANTS. 



361 



round and forming a 

 tube, and the apices all 

 expanded regu^Lrfy. They 

 vary from fleBh-colour and 

 white to pink and reddish 

 scarlet. "Winter and 

 Bpring months. 

 £. truiicatum — similar in 

 habit to the preceding, 

 but somewhat more ro- 



bust} flowers large, bent 

 down, and through the 

 irregular expansion of the 

 petals, one of the sides of 

 the flower is larger than the 

 others, thus forming akind 

 of Up. Colour varying from 

 orange-red and white to 

 pink and crimson. Win- 

 ter mouths. 



Eranthemum. — A large family of soft-wooded 

 plants, remarkable for their beautiful flowers, which 

 are freely produced, and ' continue in beauty a con- 

 siderable time if carefully cultivated. They belong 

 to the order Acanthace<s. Eranthemums are widely 

 distributed, and have usually simple, entire, or ser- 

 rated leaves. The flowers have a long slender tube, 

 unequally-lobed flat limb, spreading at right angles. 

 Pot in two parts of loam, one of peat, and one of leaf- 

 mould, with, a little sand. The points 'of the young 

 shoots must be frequently stopped, in order to pro- 

 duce handsome bushes. Intermediate House. 



£. Andersonii — a half* 

 shrubby plant, with nar- 

 row oblong - lanceolate, 

 deep green leaves. Flow- 

 ers ftiscicled, forming large 

 heads, some eight or ten 

 inches hiffh. White, 

 freckled with purplish- 

 crimson. Winter months. 



E. asperum — a slender, 

 much - branched shrub, 

 leaves somewhat ovate- 

 oblong, slightly sinuate 

 and osixk. green. Flowers 

 in cymes, pure white in 

 the upper part, with a few 

 marginal dots of purple, 

 lower lobe of limb rich 

 deep purple. Winter 

 months. 



E. cinnabarinum — this spe- 

 cies is a somewhat large 

 grower, four to six feet 

 high J leaves variable, 

 usually oblong-lanceolate, 

 slightly crenulate, deep 

 green. Flowers fascicled, 

 brilliant red, with a white 

 eye, and a stain of crimson 

 at the base of the large 

 lobe. Winter months. 

 British Burmah. 



E, Cooperii — a much- 

 branched shrub, with 

 narrow-lanceolate leav^, 

 which are lobed on the 

 margins, and taken to a 

 sharp point, and dark 

 green. Flowers pure 

 white, dotted with lines of 

 purple. Spring and early 

 summer. 



E. crenulatum — this is a 

 slightly - branched plant, 

 leaves large, ovate-acumi- 

 nate. Flowers on long 

 terminal racemes, tubes 

 white, limb rosy-pink. 

 Winter months. 



E, hypocrateriformis — a 

 splendid Enoecies, of dwajf 

 habit, with, ovate-obtuse, 

 dark green leaves. Flow- 

 ers on terminal spikes, 

 forming large, dense heads 

 of bloom, flowers rich 



bright red, deep blood-red 

 at the hose, where it is 

 aJso dotted with purplish- 

 black, the reverse side of 

 the corolla pale yellow. 

 Spring months. 



E. laxiflorum — this beauti- 

 ful plant is dwarf, and 

 branched. Flowers in 

 cymes, from the axils of 

 the leaves, rich purple, 

 the reverse side paler. 

 Winter months. 



E. nigrescens — a bold 

 grower, with laj^e ovate- 

 acuminate leaves, of a uni- 

 form purplish-blade. The 

 flowers are pure white, 

 rosy -purple m the eye, 

 the lai^e lower lobe 

 being dotted with purple. 

 Winter months. 



E. ^uilatiferum — there are 

 two forms of this plant, 

 one having scarlet, the 

 other lilac flowers. It is 

 a dwarf grower, with 

 oblong - lanceolate, dark 

 green leaves, curiously 

 blotched with white. 

 Spring months. 



E. pulchellum— leaves large, 

 ovate, and deep green, 

 flowers in terminal spikes, 

 rich vivid blue. Winter 

 months. 



E. roseum — this species is 

 remarkable for its orna- 

 mental foliage. Leaves 

 large and broad, cordate at 

 base, and acuminate, some- 

 what bullate or wrinkled 

 above, deep shining green 

 on the upper side, below 

 reddish-crimson. Flowers 

 on terminal spikes ; rosy- 

 purple. 



F, tuberculatum-T-the stem, 

 an d branches of this species 

 are thickly covered with 

 small tubercles ; leaves 

 small, and light green. 

 Flowers numerous, with 

 very long tubes, pure 

 white. Spring and early 

 summer. 



Erythrina. — A genus of Zeguminosee, popularly 

 known as Coral-trees. They mostly attain con- 

 siderable dimensions, producing in abundance their 

 splendid deep red or flame-coloured flowers, but are 

 noticed in these pages only to introduce a somewhat 

 small-growing handsome-leaved kind. Pot in a com- 

 post of two parts loam and one of peat, adding a 

 Kttle sharp sand. 



a. FurceUi. — A handsome and effective plant ; the 

 leaves usually consist of a pair of leaflets, and a ter- 

 minal one, somewhat triangular in form, ground- 

 colour deep green, the midrib and principal veins 

 broadly banded with yeUow. Flowers pea-shaped, 

 bright cinnabar. South Sea Islands, 



BULBOUS PLAJSTTS. 



By William Goldking. 



Acidantliera.— Aemall genus of the Iris family, 

 allied to Gladiolus, and comprising some haii a dozen 

 species, all natives of Africa, th.e Cape of Good Hope 

 being their chief locality. Two are found in Abys- 

 sinia, and one of these, A. bicolor, is the only species 

 at present in gardens. It is a Gladiolus-like plant, 

 having the same sword-like kind of leaves. The 

 flowers, produced on a one-sided spike, from two to 

 four together, are white, with lines of purple on each 

 division. The slender tube of the flower is remark- 

 able, being about six inches in length, and, in addi- 

 tion to the beauty of the blossoms, they have a 

 deKcious odour. Itneeds green-house orframe culture, 

 either in pots or planted out ; the soil which suits it 

 best being a mixture of peat and sand, with a little 

 turfy loam. Being deciduous, the bulbs should be 

 rested dui-ing the winter by keeping them drier. It 

 recommences growth eai-ly in the year, and flowers in 

 summer. It is a free-growing plant, and may be 

 propagated by the bulblets from the parent laulb. 

 These bulblets flower after three or four years. 



Aois.— These pretty little plants are so nearly re- 

 lated to the Snowflakes that botanists now unite 

 Acis with Leucojum. The species of Acis are, how- 

 ever, so different in appearance from the Leucojums 

 proper that cultivators wiU probably always adhere 

 to the foi-mer name. There are about half a dozen 

 species and varieties of Acis known, and aU of them 

 are or have been in cultivation. They are slender 

 little plants, having tiny bulbs, bearing few grassy 

 leaves, and fragile flower-stems, a few inches high, 

 carrying from one to- three small bell-shaped flowera, 

 either white or pink. The best-known and com- 

 monest species is A. autumnalis. It is the only 

 autumn-flowering species, and bears, on reddish, 

 slender stems, some three or four inches high, 



