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PBAGTICAL GUIDE TO GABBEN PLANTS peitillaeia 



adhering to the base of the segments. 

 Style 3-cleft. 



Culture and Propagation. — There are 

 over 50 species of Fritillarias known, all 

 being natives " of the north temperate 

 zone ; but most of them although 

 interesting are not very showy in colour, 

 and are therefore not so likely to be 

 grown in private gardens as in botanical 

 collections. The more showy kinds are 

 suitable for the flower garden and rockery 

 and also for massing on grassy banks and 

 slopes, arranged according to height. 

 Ordinary good garden soO will suit most 

 of them, and the bulbs may remain for 

 several years without being lifted. They 

 produce offsets freely in the same way as 

 Lilies, and by this means new plants are 

 obtained. The foliage should be allowed 

 to wither before the plants are touched. 

 Some kinds also ripen seeds. These may 

 be sown as soon as ripe in light sandy 

 soil in pans or boxes and should not be 

 disturbed for at least one year. The 

 young bulblets are then given a little 

 more room, and so on every year until 

 in about 4 or 6 years they reach the 

 flowering ■ stage, very much in the same 

 way as Lilies. 



The following are some of the more 

 showy kinds suitable for the hardy flower 

 garden : — 



F. aurea. — A Cilician species with 

 rather glaucous stems about 6 in. high, 

 and linear fleshy somewhat glaucous 

 leaves 2-3 in. long. The bright yellow 

 solitary drooping bell - shaped flowers 

 about 1 in. deep appear in spring, andare 

 sometimes spotted or chequered with 

 brown. 



Culture dc. as above. A good plant 

 for the rook garden. 



F. camtschatcensis {Lilimn nigrum). 

 Slack Lily. — A distinct species from 

 Kamtschatca, Siberia &c., about 9 in. high, 

 with lance-shaped leaves, the lower ones 

 being whorled, the upper ones opposite or 

 solitary. The bell-shaped okooping flowers 

 appear in May and June, and are of a deep 

 blackish-red, becoming paler towards the 

 base of the oval lance-shaped segments 

 which are spotted with deep purple. 



Culture dc. as above. This grows 

 best in moist peat and sandy loam, and 

 requires sheltered nooks in the rookery. 

 The bulbs are eaten by the natives in a 

 wild state. 



F. delphinensis. — A pretty species 

 from the Alps of Dauphiny, 6-12 in. high, 

 with 4r-Q linear or oblanceolate leaves 

 and solitary vinous-purple yellow-spotted 

 flowers drooping from the top of the stem. 

 The variety Burnati has plum-coloured 

 flowers about 2 in. deep, chequered with 

 greenish-yellow ; Moggridgei is a, very 

 handsome variety from the Maritime 

 Alps, where it flourishes at an elevation 

 of 5000-7000 ft. It has large cylindrical 

 yellow flowers, drooping like bells, and 

 chequered or tessellated inside with 

 brownish-crimson. 



Culture dc. as above. A good plant 

 for the rock garden and grassy slopes. 



F. imperialis {Crown Imperial). — A 

 vigorous and well-known plant 2-3 ft. high, 

 native of Persia, with broad bright shining 

 green wavy leaves, and a dense cluster of 

 large drooping bell-shaped flowers at the 

 top of the stem, which is surmounted by 

 a tuft of leaves. The flowers appear in 

 April, and are about the size of ordinary 

 Tulips, and vary in colour from bright 

 yellow to crimson. This variation has 

 given rise to many names of forms : hence 

 we find Aurora, bronzy - orange; lutea, 

 yellow ; rubra and rubra maxima, red ; 

 aureo-marginata, having the leaves edged 

 with yellow ; Orange Crown, orange-red ; 

 sulphurine, orange ; Slagzwaard, large 

 deep red flowers on flattened or faseiated 

 stems. There is also a form with double 

 red flowers. 



Culture and Propagation. — The 

 Crown Imperials hke a deep rich loamy 

 soil, and are suitable for the margins of 

 shrubberies, flower borders &c. They 

 look very handsome in bloom, but they 

 emit such a strong odour when out that 

 they are known in some parts by the 

 appropriate but uncomplimentary name 

 of ' Stink Lilies.' They are easily in- 

 creased by means of ofi'sets. 



F. Karelini {Bhivopetalum Earelini). 

 An Asiatic species about 6 in. high, with 

 broad stem-claspitig leaves, and terminal 

 racemes of nodding bell-shaped flowers 

 about 1 inch deep, produced late in 

 autumn or in spring according to the time 

 of planting. The blossoms are pale purple 

 with deeper purple spots and veins, and 

 a greenish-yellow nectary-hollow at the 

 base of each segment. 



Culture d-c. as above. It likes light 

 well-drained soil, and is suitable for 

 warm corners of the rockery. 



