BULBOUS PLANTS. 



283 



M. bulbocodium, strikingly resembles the common 

 Bulbocodium vernum, but whereas the Bulbocodium 

 flowers in early spring, the Merendera blooms in 

 autumn. The flowers are bright rosy-lilac colour, 

 and being showy are welcome during the autumn. 

 It is a native of the Pyrenees, and is quite hardy. 

 The flowers appear before the leaves, as in the case 

 of the Colchicum. The other species are unimportant. 

 They are M. Caucasica, also known as Bulbocodium 

 trigynum, and Colchicum Caucasicum ; 31. sobolifera, 

 and M.Jilifera, both autumn-flowering. 



Milla. — There are several Liliaceous plants known 

 in gardens under the name of Milla. These variously 

 belong to three distinct genera — Milla, Brodiwa, and 

 Triteleia. There is strictly but one Milla, and this is 

 M. Ujlora, a beautiful Mexican species. It is a slender 

 plant, bearing star-shaped flowers of waxy texture, 

 and pure white, produced in summer. In any but 

 the most favoured spots this plant requires protection 

 to grow it well, either in pots, in a green-house, or 

 frame, or planted out in a light soil in a frame. 

 It likes a light loamy soil and plenty of sand about 

 the bulbs. 



Montbretia. — A small genus of Cape of Good 

 Hope plants of the Iris family, allied to Tritonia. The 

 most familiar species is M. Fottsii, which is like a 

 Gladiolus in growth. It produces numerous tall, 

 slender, and often branching flower-spikes, furnished 

 with two rows of bright red blossoms, which expand 

 in quick succession from the base to the tip. It 

 flowers during August and September, and a good- 

 sized tuft of it in a garden is very showy. It is a 

 perfectly hardy plant, and flourishes best in a warm 

 sunny border of light sandy loam. It may also be 

 grown successfully in pots for conservatory decora- 

 tion during autumn, treated like pot Gladioli. It 

 is propagated by offsets or bulblets detached from 

 the parent bulbs in winter. 



There are a few other species of Montbretia occa- 

 sionally to be met with in botanic gardens, among 

 them being M. securigera and M. rosea, both pretty 

 plants, but too rare for general cultivation. A 

 pretty hybrid, named M. crocosmceflora, has been 

 laised between M. Fottsii and Tritonia aurea. 



Moraea. — A large genus of beautiful plants of 

 the Iris family. There are about three dozen species, 

 but only a few are in gardens. They much resemble 

 the Irises in growth and form of flower, and may, 

 indeed, be called African Irises, as the majority 

 inhabit the Cape of Good Hope. They are not, 

 however, important plants, as their flowers are so 

 fugitive, lasting only about a day, though one plant 



will bear several in succession. The best-known 

 kinds are : 31. papilionacea, a dw r arf plant with most 

 lovely pale mauve flowers ; M. edulis, a very old 

 plant, also very beautiful ; 31. spathacea, also known 

 as Bietes Huttoni. 31. ramosa and M. ciliata are 

 among the other cultivated kinds which may be 

 found in botanical collections ; and, lastly, there is 

 a M. Sisyrinchium, a veritable gem, but most 

 commonly grown as Iris Sisyrinchium. It is a 

 native of South Europe, and grows but a few inches 

 high ; the flowers, large for the size of the plant, are 

 Iris-like, and of a charming lilac, blotched with 

 white. It is so beautiful as to merit attention from 

 all who have a green-house. It is a delicate plant, 

 and requires careful pot-culture in an unheated 

 frame or green-house. It does not like heat, and 

 only needs protection from frosts. The secret of 

 growing it well is to thoroughly ripen the bulbs by 

 exposure to sun. The other 3Iorceas above-mentioned 

 are frame or green-house plants needing pot-culture, 

 and being natives of the Cape, they require similar 

 treatment to that recommended under the head of 

 Cape bulbs. 



Morphisia. — M. paniculata is a very beautiful 

 plant, resembling an Ixia. The flowers have 

 long tubes, and are produced abundantly in large, 

 branched clusters. They are a soft buff, with a 

 carmine centre, but this colour varies in the sorts 

 from white, with a dark centre, to a rosy and 

 apricot hue. It flowers later than the Ixias, and 

 continues till August. It is known also as Ixia 

 paniculata, I. longiflora, Gladiolus longiflorus, G. 

 ixioides, and others. Other but unimportant Morph- 

 ixias are 31. capillaris, incarnata, linearis, aulica, 

 and odorata. Only 31. panimlata can be procured 

 through the ordinary channels. All the Morphixias 

 may be grown under precisely the same treatment as 

 that accorded to Ixias, Sparaxis, and the like. 



Muscari [Grape Hyacinth). — The Grape Hya- 

 cinths are spring-flowering bulbs peculiarly distinct 

 from all others. They have conical flower-spikes, 

 varying from deep purple to blue and white. They 

 are capable of producing pretty effects in the spring 

 garden if planted in large masses, for then their 

 crowds of flower-spikes, though small, render a 

 border aglow with rich blues of every shade. They 

 are suitable for every garden in town or country, as 

 the majority are not at all fastidious as regards 

 soil ; in fact, as a rule, many of them grow and 

 increase so rapidly that they become weeds. All 

 the species that are worth growing are thoroughly 

 hardy, delighting best in a light deep soil, in an open 

 sunny spot ; and some of the rarer and more delicate 

 kinds may be grown in the rock garden. Some, 



