BULBOUS PLANTS. 



57 



rim, vary from pure white to deep lilac. There is, 

 therefore, more diversity of colour in this species than 

 in any other. The original form has pale lilac petals, 

 with a large blotch of reddish-brown near the base of 



purple. Other varieties are : Emperor, with large 

 flowers of a deep purple, produced later than the 

 other varieties ; roseus, an early form, with rose- 

 tinted flowers ; and oculatus, of a bright purple-rose, 



CALOCHORTUS VENUSTTT3. 



each, and this spot is always bordered with yellow. 

 It is the contrast of the delicate body-colour of the 

 flower with these conspicuous blotches, which renders 

 this species so beautiful. The chief varieties are 

 alius, pure white ; brachysepcdus, with shorter petals 

 than the type, less conspicuously spotted ; Ulacinus, 

 of a beautiful deep lilac ; purpurascens, deep lilac- 



with a very deep blotch, almost black. Under the 

 most favourable conditions C. vemistus may be grown 

 very large, with stems as much as two feet high, and 

 some sorts, such as Emperor, attain even a larger 

 size than that. As a general rule all the Mariposas 

 require frame-culture, as recommended, although 

 in some localities they thrive perfectly in the open, 



