938 



PB ACTIO AL GUIDE TO GABDEN PLANTS 



CEOCUS 



The variety porphyreus has outer seg- 

 ments of a bright claret-purple, the inner 

 ones being white. 



Culture dc. as above, p. 937. 



C. asturicus. — A pretty Spanish au- 

 tumnal Crocus with leaves about 1 ft. long, 

 produced after the flowers. The latter 

 appear from September to November, and 

 are 4-5 in. long, with a violet bearded 

 throat. The segments are violet or purple, 

 with a few darker lines near the base, and 

 are variable in colour although rarely 

 white. There are several pretty forms, 

 the best being azureus, blue ; atropur- 

 pureus, dark purple ; Ulacinus, lilac ; 

 ■palUdus, pale mauve; and ■purpureus, 

 bright purple. 



Culture do. as above, p. 937. 



C. aureus (C. lagenceflorus ; C.moesia- 

 cus (tc). — A beautiful old Crocus, native 

 of S.E. Europe, with linear leaves and 

 rich golden-yellow flowers usually pro- 

 duced in February. Prom this species 

 the common or ' Dutch Yellow ' Crocus of 

 gardens has descended, and also numer- 

 ous varieties like Aucheri, deep orange ; 

 lacteus and lacticolor, milky white; 

 sulphureus and sulphureus pallidus, 

 sulphur- or fine primrose-yellow ; luteus 

 striatus with 3 distinct black stripes on 

 the back of the outer segments, &c. 



Culture do. as above, p. 937. 



C. Balansae. — A pretty little Crocus, 

 native of Western Asia Minor, and 

 remarkable for its pear-shaped corms 

 about 1 in. broad and leaves about 10 in. 

 long. Flowers in March, 2-2^ in. long, 

 orange-yellow, the outer surface fea- 

 thered or tinted with brown or bronze. 



Culture dc. as above, p. 937. 



C. banaticus {C. veluchensis). — A 

 native of South Hungary, with leaves 

 about 15 in. long, having wide and open 

 side channels. The beautiful flowers ap- 

 pear in February and March and are about 

 3 in. long, with a white throat ; the inner 

 segments are rich bright purple, with 

 deeper coloured markings near the apex, 

 and are paler than the outer ones, varying 

 to white or variegated with purple and 

 white. There are several good forms of 

 this species, such as albiflorus, concolor, 

 niveus, pictus and versicolor. 



Culture dc. as above, p. 987. 



C. biflorus (Scotch or Cloth of Silver 

 Crocus). — A handsome Crocus found wild 

 in many parts of Italy and extending 



eastwards to the Caucasus. It has short 

 erect narrow leaves having a distinct 

 white midrib. The flowers appear in 

 February and March and vary in colour 

 from white to a pale lavender, the outer 

 surface of the outer segments being 

 distinctly feathered with purple and 

 yellow within. 



There are many forms of C. biflorus. 

 Argenteus is snowy white feathered with 

 black and has conspicuous bright orange 

 stigmas ; estriatus rosy-lilac washed with 

 buff; Adami from the Caucasus is pale 

 purple or feathered outside with deeper 

 veins ; minor is a free-flowering form 

 with lilac inner segments, the outer ones 

 being striped with purple ; PestalozziB 

 is a charming variety vidth small white 

 and yellow flowers, and is a form of 

 nubigenus from Asia Minor, the flowers 

 of which are suffused and speckled with 

 hiowa iperpusillus is excellent for edgings 

 and masses, and has an orange throat 

 and white feathered outer segments ; 

 and the Hungarian Weldeni varies from 

 pure white to mauve stained with blue. 

 The variety LeicMKni is of more recent 

 origin. and is recognised by its white or 

 pale purple sweet-scented flowers with 

 narrow lance-shaped segments. 



Culture dc. as above, p. 937. 



C. Biliotti. — A charming Crocus, 

 native of Trebizond, having dark rich 

 purple flowers in spring, with a deeper 

 coloured blotch near the throat. The 

 anthers are yellow, and the stigmata 

 orange. 



Culture dc. as above, p. 937. 



C. cancellatus. — A handsome 

 autumnal Crocus native of Asia Minor 

 with leaves about a foot long appearing 

 in spring after the blossoms have with- 

 ered. The flowers appear from Sep- 

 tember to December and are 4-5 in. long 

 with a yellow unbearded throat. The 

 segments vary from white to pale purple 

 and are sometimes feathered with purple. 

 The variety cillcicus has lilac flowers 

 veined with purple, a form of it called 

 Ulacinus has larger soft hlac striped 

 blossoms ; the variety masziaricus is 

 white with a bjright golden-orange throat. 



This and other late-flowering au- 

 tumnal Crocuses are charming in the 

 flower border, rockery or grass, but their 

 beautiful blooms are frequently spoiled 

 by cold drenching rains at the end of the 

 year. Grown in pots or cold frames 



