156 



CASSELL'S POPULAR GARDENING. 



valuable inasmuch as they produce flowers in the 

 depth of winter as well as in the height of summer. 

 In recent years the older kind of the three in culti- 

 vation has become one of the commonest of stove 

 plants, and, moreover, is largely grown in market 

 flower gardens, the perennial yield of flowers making 

 it a most profitable plant to grow. No bridal bou- 

 quet or funeral wreath is now considered perfect 

 unless it contains 

 the Eucharis, and 

 as the flowers, on 

 account of their 

 firm texture, en- 

 dure so long in a 

 fresh state after 

 cutting, they are 

 specially adapted 

 for these pur- 

 poses. As the 

 blooms open 

 one by one 

 in the clus- 

 ters, it is not 

 usual to cut ftS 

 the whole _ -J§| 

 spike, but .-3= 

 merely the : §y 

 expanded ■ 

 blooms, which j^"' 

 have stalks lj 

 two or three *' -% 

 inches long, 

 quite suffi- 

 cient for ar- 

 ranging them in 

 bouquets, wreaths, 

 &c. The true beauty 

 of the Eucharis 

 flowers when cut, 

 however, can only 

 be seen when the 

 whole spike is cut 

 and placed in water. 

 It is then most interesting to see the beautiful way 

 in which the flower-buds unfold one after the other. 

 To really enjoy the Eucharis, therefore, the spikes 

 must be cut and placed in a simple vase, and arranged 

 with a few of its own leaves. There are three 

 species of Eucharis grown in gardens. Of these the 

 commonest and best known is 



E. Amazonica. — This is the finest of the three, 

 and is so generally cult: vated that it scarcely needs 

 description. When well grown its flowers are as 

 much as four inches across, and good spikes bear as 

 many as eight, nine, and ten flowers in an umbel- 

 like cluster on stems ranging from eighteen inches 



to three feet high. The foliage is handsome, being 

 broad and of a deep green. The most abundant crops 

 of flowers are produced during the spring months, 

 but intermittent crops appear throughout the year. 

 This plant was first brought to Europe from New 

 Grenada in 1854. Its correct name is E. grandi- 

 Jlora, but it is so commonly known in gardens as 

 E. Amazonica that it is doubtful if this name 



will now be sup- 

 pressed. 



E. Candida. — In 

 general appearance 

 this resembles the 

 preceding kind, but 

 is smaller in its 

 flowers, and may 

 therefore be used 

 for purposes 

 \ for which 

 T~ \ E. Amazonica 

 j| j would be 

 f too large. 

 4~ Though ex- 

 US; t r e m e 1 y 

 graceful, it is 

 §| \ not so free- 

 ly flowering as 

 .... ' the larger 

 H kind, and it 

 H needs a much 

 X longer period 

 of rest after 

 blooming. 

 This species 

 was discovered in 

 1851, but seems to 

 have almost, if not 

 quite, dropped out 

 of cultivation till 

 reintroduced in 

 quantity about ten 

 years ago, since 

 which time great 

 numbers have been received. There is a spurious 

 E. Candida in cultivation, having small and com- 

 paratively inconspicuous white flowers of quite a 

 different shape. It is not really a Eucharis, but a 

 Calliphruria. 



E. Sandcriana. — This is the latest addition to the 

 genus, having been only introduced in 1882. The 

 leaves are more wrinkled and of a paler green, par- 

 ticularly in their young state. They are, moreover, 

 much broader and more heart-shaped. The flowers 

 are arranged in an umbel on a stout stem, as in the 

 preceding kinds, but their shape is different, the tube 

 being more funnel-like, and the segments do not 



Eucharis Amazonica. 



