460 THE LILY FAMILY. [Fritillaria. 



VII. FRITILLARIA. FRITILLARY. 



Bulbous herbs, with a leafy stem, and 1 or more rather long, droop- 

 ing flowers in a terminal raceme. Perianth bell-shaped, with distinct 

 segments as in Tulipa, but the 3 inner segments have near their base a 

 nectariferous cavity. Stamens inserted at the very base of the perianth, 

 the anthers attached a little above their base. Capsule as in Tulipa. 



An elegant genus, chiefly North American and Asiatic, with 2 or 3 

 species extending into Europe. 



1, F. Meleagris, Linn. (fig. 1037). Common F., Snake's head.— Stem 

 a foot high or rather more, with 3 or 4 linear or somewhat lanceolate 

 leaves, and a single terminal drooping flower, usually of a dull red, 

 marked inside with more highly coloured, chequered lines and spots ; 

 the segments oblong, narrowed at both ends, about 1J inches long, the 

 cavity of the inner ones oblong or linear. 



In moist meadows, and pastures, and occasionally in woods, all across 

 central Europe, from France and southern Scandinavia to the Caucasus, 

 replaced in southern Europe by a closely allied species or variety. 

 Occurs in several parts of England, but perhaps truly wild only in 

 some of the southern and eastern counties, and not in Scotland or 

 Ireland. Fl. spring. It varies occasionally with white or yellowish 

 flowers. 



VIII. TULIPA. TULIP 



Bulbous herbs, with a leafy stem, and a single terminal flower (or 

 very rarely 2), usually large and erect when fully out. Perianth bell- 

 shaped ; the segments free from the base, without any depression in 

 the centre. Stamens free from the perianth ; the anthers erect, attached 

 by their base. Style very short, thick, or ; stigma 3-lobed. Capsule 

 3-celled, with several flattish horizontal seeds in each cell, their testa 

 pale and thin. 



A splendid genus, chiefly south European and west Asiatic, including 

 the Tulips of our gardens, which are most of them varieties of T. 

 Gesneriana. 



1. T. sylvestris, Linn. (fig. 1038). Wild T— Stem about a foot high, 

 with 1, 2, or rarely 3 linear-lanceolate leaves, and a single terminal 

 yellow flower, drooping in the bud, nearly erect when fully out, and 

 with a faint fragrant smell. Perianth-segments narrowed at the base 

 and at the top, about l\ inches long, the inner ones rather broader than 

 the outer. Stamens about half as long, with a tuft of hairs at the base 

 of the filaments. 



In fields, pastures, and waste places, in central and southern Europe, 

 extending eastward to the Caucasus and northward to Holland. Indi- 

 genous in some of the eastern and southern counties of England, intro- 

 duced in some others. FL spring. 



