610 



FKEESIA 



lu the home window Freesias will flower in 6 weeks 

 :ifter growth starts. Their fragrance is delightful. 

 Thej' are not so particular as the other important bulljs 

 about being potted long before they are wanted for forc- 

 ing and stored in a cool place, where the tops are held 

 back while the roots develop. Be careful to have good 

 drainage. There is danger of overwatering until the 

 plants are in flower. 



The wholesale production of Preesia bulbs is an im- 

 portant industry. The Channel Islands have long been 

 known as one of the most favored localities for growing 

 Cape bulbs. Freesias are comparatively little grown in 

 Holland. The centers of the industry seem to be shift- 

 ing. The Bermuda Islands now have a small share of 

 the trade, and California has the largest share of any of 

 the American states at present. 



A. Fls. distincfh/ S-lipped : inflorescence st raijgling : 

 colors dull; spots prominent. 



reSricta, Klatt. Fig. 870. The original type no longer 

 in cultivation. Lvs. linear: spathe-valves small, oblong- 

 lanceolate, scariods. 



AA. Fls. and inflorescence more nearly reijiilar: colors 



purer; spots not prominent. 

 B. Tube typically long, slender and gradually narrowed. 



Var. Alba. Fig. 870. Lvs. and spathe-valves as in 

 var. odorata. 



BB. Tube lypically sitort, Iroud, suddenly constricted, 

 c. Color pole yellotc. 

 Var, Leichtlinii. Fig. 8G9. There is a subvariety 

 may>r int. by Sutton. 



I'c. Color hrifjht yellow. 



Var. odorata. Lvs. broader and less rigid than in the 

 type: spathe-valves broader and more obtuse. Snbva- 

 rietie.s with various colors are liictea, lilacUia, formosa 

 and Klattectna. 



riT. Color orange. 



Var. aiirea. Odorless, later than the rest and more 

 uncertain. 



Other kinds of less importance are crispa, tricolor, ^antho- 

 spica, purpurascens and xanthospila. These names do not 

 appear in American catalogues. Bella is a variety highly 

 praised by some. "W, M. 



FEEM6NTIA (after John Charles Fremont, dis- 

 tinguished western explorer, who discovered it in 184G). 

 Syn. Fremonfodendron . Sterculidcew. Beautiful free- 

 flowering shrub, with alternate, rather small, palmately- 

 lobed lvs. and large yellow fls. appearing in great pro- 

 fusion in .June. It is not hardy North, and in cool re- 

 gions it should have a sunny and sheltered position, 

 preferably against a wall of southern aspect ; it pre- 

 fers well-drained, rather dry soil, and dislikes, espe- 

 cially during the winter, an excess of moisture. Prop, by 

 seeds or by greenwood cuttings under glass in summer. 

 One species in California, allied to the Mexican Chei- 

 ranthodendron : shrub or small tree, with stellate pu- 

 bescence : lvs. alternate, slender-petioled : fls. solitary 

 on sliort, lateral branchlets, apetalous : calyx large, 

 deeply .^-parted, with .S small bracts at the base ; sta- 

 mens .'3-connate toward the base into a tube : fr. a ,5- 

 celled, dehiscent capsule with many seeds. 



Cali£6rnica, Torr. To 20 ft. : lvs. generally roundish 

 ovate, cordate or rounded at the base, obtuse, 3- to .^- 

 lobed or almost entire, whitish or ferrugineous pubes- 

 cent beneath, /^-l^vj'in. long: calj'x 13^-3 in. across, 

 deep yellow, with stellate hairs outside, villous at the 

 hase within ; lobes orbicular : capsule densely beset 

 with hispid hairs, 1 in. long. S.S. 1:23. B.M. ."iSiil. Gn. 

 S.p..?."-]; 2fl:52.5.and33,p. 50(3. F. 8.22:2340. R.H. 1807:00. 

 I.H. 13:-!%. B.PL 17:13. Alfred Rehdek. 



FRINGE TREE. Cliionrintliiis Virginicu. 



FRITILLAEIA (Latin fritillus, commonly understood 

 to be a checker-board, hut may have meant dice-box). 

 Lilidcea. This genus includes the Grown Imperial and 



FRITILLARIA 



the Fritillaries, hardy, bulbous plants, mostly low 

 growing and spring-blooming, with drooping or noi] 

 ding fls. which are often checkered or tessellated wit 

 dark purple and green, but some also have brighter colors 

 They resemble lilies in having drooping or nodding fls 

 but their anthers are flxed attliebase, while those of th 

 lilies are fastened on the back hut are free to swin 

 about. Lilies, too, have funnel-shaped fls., while Pritii 

 laries and tulips have bell-shaped fls., and tulip fls. ar 

 erect. Nearly all the Old World Fritillaries reserabl 

 tulips in having coated bulbs, while all the America 

 Fritillaries resemble lilies in having scaly bulbs. It i 

 a curious fact that the Cape of Good Hope, which ha 

 supplied the world with so many excellent bulbou 

 plants, has no lilies, tulips or Fritillaries. 



By far the most popular kinds are the Checkered Lil 



871. Common Snake's-head or Checkered Lily. 



{Fritillaria Meleagris.) 



Faitlifully redrawn from Besler's Hortus Eystettensis, 

 published in I61'.i. (Incorrect as to stamens and pistil.) 



and Crown Imperial, Figs. 871, 874. The,se are the hare 

 est, the easiest to cultivate and the most variable. Tl 

 Crown Imperial is one of the most characteristic plan 

 of old-fashioned gardens, but it has been banished fro 

 many modern gardens because of its strong f'Bt 

 odor. It is the most robust of all the species, and un 

 1897 was supposed to be the only one with its fls. 

 umbels, all the others being solitary or in racemes, 

 is a truly imperial plant, and rejoices the children eai 

 in every sjiring by its marvelous pearly drops of m 

 tar, which seem never to fall. F. Meleagris, the mc 

 popular of the purple kinds, is the common Snake 

 Head or Checkered Lily, so called from the tessellati 

 of purple and green, which is prettiest when as sharp 

 and regularly defined as possible. This plant grc 

 wild in moist English meadows, and can be naturaliz 

 in large quantities in such situations. It is the or 

 kind that can he used for all the purposes mention 

 below and for cut-Hs. Other ancient inhabitants of E 

 ropean gardens are F. latifolia, lutea and Persicn,i 

 the last of which we are indebted to "Mr. Nicholas Le 



