BULBOUS PLANTS. 



367 



rosy- violet flowers in early spring. Those who have 

 grown them successfully have planted them in light 

 sandy soil in frames. 



Anomatlieca cruenta. — A charming little 

 South African plant, which no garden can afford to 

 be without. It is of dwarf growth, with grassy 

 foliage, and produces numerous slender flower-stems, 

 carrying a profusion of cherry-red blossoms from 

 June to September. Though not a thoroughly hardy 

 plant, it thrives admirably in the open border, and as 

 it seeds freely, seedlings spring up every year in 

 light sou, so that the plant is no trouble in increasing. 

 In cold localities, or on stiff, cold soils, the plant re- 

 quires protection during winter. It shoidd have a 

 small sunny corner to itself, so that stray seedlings 

 would not interfere with other plants. It is a capital 

 plant for growing in pots for the conservatory, for 

 which purpose the bulbs should be potted in early 

 spring. It is best to defer planting the bulbs in the 

 open border until spring. It is easily raised from 

 seed, which should be sown as soon as ripe. The 

 tiny bulblets produced from the parent btdbs flower 

 the following season. It is the only plant worth 

 growiag in the genus, which is exclusively South 

 African. 



Antbolyza. — -These are comparatively unim- 

 portant plants for the garden. A few of the species, 

 numbering about a dozen, are among the old-fashioned 

 plants which have been ousted by showier kinds. 

 They all resemble the Gladiolus in growth and 

 foliage, but their flowers, instead of being open, are 

 tubular, and generally of singular shape. 



The names of the most attractive species are A. 

 ringens,A. (ethiopica,A.bicolor,aiiAA.Oimoma. The 

 flowers, generally bright red, are numerous, and pro- 

 duced in spikes, overtopping the foliage. Being 

 natives of the Cape of Good Hope, the Antholyzas 

 require similar treatment to most other bulbs from 

 that region. None of these Antholyzas are abso- 

 lutely hardy, though in light, warm, sandy soils in 

 southern districts they take no harm during ordi- 

 nary winters, especially if protected by a covering of 

 ashes or leaves. As-a general rule, however, it is ad- 

 visable to lift the bulbs after the foliage is matured, 

 usually about August, and to keep them in store 

 until February or March. They may be increased 

 by separating the bulblets from the parent bulbs, and 

 by seed. Sometimes the Watsonias, a much showier 

 genus of bulbs, are incorrectly called Antholyzas. 



Anticlea glauca. — This little bulb, which in- 

 habits the swamps of Canada, and the Northern 

 United States, is not of much value as a garden plant, 

 though it is to be found in nursery catalogues. It 



produces tufts of long, narrow, grassy foliage of a 

 glaucous hue, and bears branching flower-spikes 

 about a foot high, with small yellowish flowers. It 

 thrives in a moist peat border. It is a Liliaceous 

 plant, and is known also as Zygadenus glcmcus and 

 Z. chlorcmthus. 



Babiana. — Like the Ixias, Tritonias, and Spa- 

 raxises, the Babiauas come imder the general head of 

 Cape bulbs, which it is to be hoped will again become 

 as popukr as with our forefathers a century ago, 

 when the bulk of these beautiful gems of the South 

 African flora were first introduced to our gardens. 

 There are about a score of species known to botanists, 

 but the common Babianas of gardens have aU sprung 

 from one species, viz., B. strieta, a species distinct 

 from the rest of the Babianas, and forming the type 

 of the sub-genus Acaste. In this species the flower 

 is of regular outline, with the petals arranged in 

 a saucer-like form; the growth is dwarf and the 

 foUage conspicuously ribbed. Under this species 

 are classed all the Babianas which were introduced 

 about a century ago under specific names. These 

 are now found to differ in no way from the original 

 B. strieta, except perhaps in the stature and colour 

 of the flowers ; and the whole of the varieties with 

 fanciful names which have been raised, chiefly in 

 the Dutch bulb gardens, have sprung from either 

 the original B. strieta or its six wild varieties. 



The other sub-genus, the true Babianas, com- 

 prises a very different class of plants, the species 

 included in it being more like Gladioli than the 

 ordinary Babianas. They are all characterised in 

 having flowers more or less irregular in outline, 

 with unequal-sized petals, and generally having a 

 long slender tube. In some instances, as in B. tubi- 

 flora, this tube is as much as four inches in length, 

 giving the flowers a strange appearance. The 

 species in this section are rarely seen outside a 

 botanical garden, although many of them possess 

 such rare beauty as to well deserve the attention of 

 the general cultivator. Mention will only be made 

 of the most remarkable. 



B. distieha. — A dwarf plant, with ribbed leaves, 

 and showy flowers of a, pale purplish-lilac. The 

 tube is long and slender, and the spike crowded. 



B. tubata and tubiflora, being so much alike, may 

 be described together. They are both very singu- 

 lar plants, being remarkable for the great length of 

 their slender flower-tubes, which are from three 

 to four inches long. The petals are creamy-white, 

 heavily blotched with red. The flowers are pro- 

 duced in clustered spikes, on short stems. B. tubi- 

 Jlora is the showier plant, and the more easily pro- 

 cured. 



B. piicata has small Gladiolus-like flowers, of a 



