LILY TRIBE 



287 



Allium Ursinum 

 (Broad-leaved Garlic) 



8. Allium {Garlic) 



I. A. ursinum (Broad-leaved Garlic, Ram- 

 sons). — Leaves broad and flat ; flower-stalk 

 triangular ; flowers in a flat umbel. The 

 leaves of this plant are scarcely to be dis- 

 tinguished from those of the Lily of the 

 Valley ; the flowers are white and pretty, ^ 

 but the stench of the whole plant is intoler- "^^^ ■ 

 able. Woods and thickets ; common.r^ 

 Fl. May, June. Perennial. 



Seven other species of Garlic are described 

 by British botanists, but none of them are 

 so common as the last, and many are difficult 

 to distinguish. The student specially desir- 

 ous of studying them should refer to a work 

 of greater scope than the present. 



A. Schcenoprasum (Chives) is a pretty plant, with dense heads of 

 purplish flowers. In a wild state its foliage is scanty, but under 

 cultivation becomes very abundant, in which state it is a favourite 

 cottage pot-herb. Several other species are remarkable for bearing 

 small bulbs among the flowers. 



9. SiMETHIS (Simethis) 



I. 5. bicolor (Variegated Simethis). — A pretty plant, with narrow, 

 radicle, grass-like leaves, and a slender stem about a foot high, 

 bearing a terminal panicle of white, star-hke flowers, tinged with 

 purple on the outside. Very rare ; found in Kerry and in fir woods 

 at Branksome, near Bournemouth, where it was probably accident- 

 ally introduced. — Fl. May, June. Perennial. 



10. MuscARi (Grape Hyacinth) 



I. M. racemosum (Grape Hyacinth). — Leaves narrow, 6-18 inches 

 long, prostrate ; stem shorter, bearing a compact, cylindric head 

 of small, deep blue, ovid flowers, bearing a faint resemblance to a 

 bunch of grapes — the upper ones rudimentary. Eastern counties ; 

 rare. — Fl. April, May. Perennial. Several very pretty species 

 with pale blue and white flowers are grown in gardens. 



II. Fritillaria {Fritillary) 



I. F. meleagris (Fritillary, Snake's Head). — The only British 

 species. A bulbous plant, about a foot high, with very narrow 

 leaves and a solitary drooping flower, shaped like a Tulip, and curi- 

 ously chequered with pink and dull purple. Meadows and pastures 



