942 



PB ACTIO AL GUIDE TO GARDEN PLANTS libebtia 



long appearing with the flowers in March. 

 Perianth 3 in. or more long with a white 

 beardless throat and pale sapphire-laven- 

 der segments, occasionally with a dark 

 blotch at the apex. Excellent for natura- 

 lising in grass. The variety airopur- 

 pureus has rich clear lUao blossoms ; and 

 pallidus soft lilac. 



Culture dc. as above, p. 937. 



C. vetrms (Spring Crocus). — A beauti- 

 ful and well-known Crocus from the Pyre- 

 nees, Alps and Carpathian Mountains with 

 linear channelled ribless leaves appearing 

 at the same time as the flowers early in 

 February and March in cultivation, or as 

 late as June and July on the mountain tops 

 of Europe. They have a bearded throat, 

 and are lUac, violet, and white in colour, 

 but never yellow, and variously striped 

 with other colours. 



Culture dc. as above. 



From this species nearly all the garden 

 forms imported in such quantities from 

 Holland have been derived. They exhibit 

 a vast range of colour from pure white, 

 through grey, lilac, violet and purple, 

 many of them being finely striped and 

 variegated. The following is a list of the 

 best garden forms of the Spring Crocus : — 



White varieties sometimes lined with 

 purple 



Caroline Chisholm, Le gra/nd Con- 

 quirant, Mont Blanc, Queen Victoria, 

 Meine Blanche, Variegaius, Alfred 

 Tennyson, George Maw, Lady Stanhope, 

 Leucorhynchus (Pheasant's Feather), 

 Madame Marmont, Madamie Mima, 

 Obovatms. 



Blue, lilac, purple, and yellow varieties 



Albion, Baron von Brunow, Concin- 

 David Bizzio, Emperor, Ira 

 King of the Purples, La 

 Majestueuse, Leedsi, Leucostigma, 

 Lilaceus superbus, Lord Derby, Lord 

 Palmerston, L'Unique, Margot, Miss 

 Patti, Ne plus ultra, Othello, President 

 Grant, Pride of Albion,, Prince Albert, 

 Purpurea grandiflora. Sir John Franle- 

 tin, Sir Walter Scott, Yellow Mammoth. 



C. versicolor (C. fragrans).—k beau- 

 tiful Crocus from the Maritime Alps with 

 pear-shaped corms and channelled and 

 ribbed leaves 8-9 in. long when mature. 

 Flowers in March, varying from purple 

 to white, self-coloured, or feathered and 

 veined with purple outside, the inner and 



nus, 



outer series of segments being similarly 

 coloured. This is one of the oldest Cro- 

 cuses in cultivation, and many fine forms 

 have arisen from it. 



Culture dc. as above, p. 937. 



C. vitellinus. — A Syrian Crocus with 

 tufts of 5-6 leaves appearing at the same 

 time as the bright orange flowers. The 

 coppery brown styles are cut into numer- 

 ous slender branches. 



Culture dc. as above, p. 937. 



C. zonatus. — An ornamental and free- 

 flowering autumnal Crocus from the 

 CUioian mountains and Lebanon. The 

 channelled leaves about 1 ft. long have 

 a white band down the centre. The 

 flowers appear in September and October, 

 having a pale buff perianth tube about 

 3 in. long, bearded bright yellow throat, 

 and rosy-lilac segments, veined or lined 

 with purple inside, and having bright 

 orange semi-circular spots or zones at 

 the base. 



Culture dc. as above, p. 937. 



LIBERTIA. — A genus with 8 species 

 of pretty perennials having creeping root- 

 stocks and tufts of equitant linear or 

 narrowly sword-shaped, often stiffish 

 leaves more or less prominently veined. 

 Flowers in loose cymes or panicles, 

 having a bell-shaped perianth with 6 free 

 divisions, the 3 inner ones of which are 

 larger than the others. Stamens 3. 

 Ovary 3-ceUed, becoming a roundish 3- 

 furrowed capsule when ripe. 



Culture and Propagation. — Libertias 

 are rather slow-growing plants, but they 

 thrive better in rich sandy peat than in 

 loam, and may be planted in bold masses 

 in the warmest nooks of the rock garden 

 or in the flower border, or on the margins 

 of peat-loving shrubs like Ehododendrons, 

 Kalmias &c. They are fairly hardy in 

 the milder parts of the kingdom, but it is 

 wise to give them a little protection in 

 winter from severe frosts by means of 

 litter, bracken &c., or handlights. They 

 are best increased in spring as growth is 

 commencing afi-esh by very carefully 

 dividing the tufts with a sharp knife. 

 Seeds may also be sown when ripe in cold 

 frames or greenhouses, but it is a long 

 time before they produce flowering plants. 



L. formosa. — A beautiful Chilian 

 perennial 1-2 ft. high, with deep green 

 sword-shaped leaves which retain their 

 colour well during the winter months 



