56 



CASSELL'S POPULAR GARDENING. 



plant inhabiting the Siskiyou mountains of Cali- 

 fornia. C. Tolmiei is a stouter and taller plant than 

 elegans, and its flowers are more tinged with lilac- 

 purple. It is grown in gardens, but rare. 



C.Jlavus is a Mexican species of the Cyclobothra 

 section, having tall, slender, and branching stems, and 

 smallish, nodding, yellow blossoms. 



C. Greenei belongs to the large-flowered or Mariposa 

 section of the genus. It is a very handsome plant, 

 having a stout branching flower-stem about a foot 

 high, carrying from two to five large open flowers, 

 with lilac petals, barred below with yellow, and more 

 or less of purple, and loosely covered interiorly with 

 hairs. It is a rare species in gardens, but may be 

 purchased at nurseries where these bulbs are a 

 speciality. C. nitidus is a similar species. 



C. Gunnisonii— One of the Mariposa section, hav- 

 ing light lilac flowers, banded and lined with purple. 

 A beautiful species, very rare in cultivation, and 

 native of the Rocky Mountains. 



C. lilacinus. — This is the lovely little plant which 

 is known in English gardens under the name of C. 

 uniflorus, and it was figured as such in the Botanical 

 Magazine, but the true C. uniflorus is not yet intro- 

 duced. C. lilacinus bears open cup-shaped flowers, 

 about two inches across, and from four to ten on each 

 branching stem. They are of a delicate soft mauve 

 lint, and hairy interiorly. C. nudus, called also C. 

 elegans subclavatus, is a similar species. 



C. luteus, one of the best known and most beau- 

 tiful, belongs to ' the Mariposa section. It has 

 slender stems, bearing from one to six flowers. These 

 are about three inches across, in form like an erect 

 cup, with the three broad petals slightly reflexed. 

 They vary from pale yellow to a deep yellow, and 

 are hairy on the inside, and usually tinged with 

 reddish-brown. In the variety citrinus (C. venustus 

 citrinus of some botanists) the whole flower is of a 

 deep yellow, with a central circular brown spot, while 

 in the variety oculatus the petals are white, lilac, or 

 yellowish, with a similar dark central spot at the base 

 of the petals. C. clavatus and C. aureus are similar 

 species not yet introduced. C. luteus is one of the 

 gems among bulbous plants, and is worth a great 

 deal of trouble to cultivate successfully. 



C. macrocarpus. — A rare species of the Mariposa 

 section, having a tall, rigid stem, generally bearing 

 but one flower. This is larger than those of the 

 other species, and of a pale purple-lilac. This delicate 

 tint, combined with the handsome form of the flower, 

 renders it very beautiful. 



C. Maweanus. — A small-growing plant, in the way 

 of C. elegans. Its dwarf stems are much branched, 

 and bear several small . flowers, white or pale lilac, 

 and very hairy interiorly. This pretty little species 

 is often confused in English gardens with C. elegans. 



C. Nuttallii. — One of the Mariposa or large- 

 flowered group, and extremely handsome. Its stems 

 are slender, about a foot high, and bear from one 

 to five flowers, about three inches across, the petals 

 being white, tinged with yellow or lilac, with a pur- 

 plish band or spot above the yellow base. It is the 

 same plant as that called in gardens G. Leitchlinii, 

 under which name it was figured in the Botanical 

 Magazine. It has a wide distribution in California, 

 often occurring as a dwarf Alpine in the Sierra 

 Nevada mountains. 



C. {Cyclobothra) pulchellus is one of the most beau- 

 tiful, and, at the same time, the hardiest of all the 

 Calochorti in cultivation. It is nearly allied to C. 

 albus, and was one of the first introduced by the tra- 

 veller Douglas. "Well grown it is a foot or more in 

 height, and the branched stem carries several nodding 

 flowers, globose in form, and of a bright yellow, often 

 a deep orange. The leaves and stem being glaucous- 

 white harmonise beautifully with the golden flowers. 

 This species is so hardy and vigorous as to be quite 

 amenable to border culture in a light sandy soil, 

 which treatment suits it far better than being coddled 

 in pots. It never grows finer than when planted at 

 the foot of a warm wall, where its bulbs can be 

 thoroughly ripened every year. In such a position 

 it comes up year after year, getting stronger and 

 stronger, and never requires to be lifted or even 

 protected during winter. These remarks apply to 

 the climate of London and southward. Northward 

 the plant may in some places need protection. It is 

 so distinct from all the rest that it is not likely to be 

 confused with any other, and it has no synonyms. 



C. splendens. — This and C. venustus and C. luteus 

 are the largest-flowered and showiest species in the 

 genus, and they are now tolerably common in 

 English gardens. C. splendens resembles C. luteus in 

 manner of growth, as also in the size and form of 

 the flower, but the petals instead of yellow are of a 

 clear lilac, with numerous white hairs scattered over 

 the inner surfaces, and with a densely hairy gland 

 or pit at the base of each. A well-grown plant of 

 the species is about a foot high, and each stem bears 

 several flowers. In gardens it is often confused with 

 C. venustus, from which it may be at once distinguished 

 by the absence of the dark blotch at the base of the 

 petals. There is a pure white variety (albus), but 

 it is extremely rare in gardens. C. flexuosus, a simi- 

 lar, but stouter and taller plant, is so rare that it 

 need scarcely be mentioned. C. Falmerii, an allied 

 species, is beautiful, but very rare. 



C. venustus is undoubtedly the queen of the genus, 

 and is, fortunately, as easily managed as any of the 

 Mariposas. It has large and exquisitely formed 

 flowers, similar to C. luteus. The three broad petals, 

 which assume a cup-like form, with a recurved 



