A HISTORY OF THE SPECIES OF CROCUS. 



255 



fibres confluent upwards, the next within thin, membranaceous, 

 attached on the summit ; spathe without a bract, 1J inch free, 

 tube an inch free or more, limb acute, -§ inch long, white, with two 

 yellow spots at the base of each segment, sepals near J. wide, petals 

 a little less, filaments white, anthers white, equalling stigmas, which 

 are generally bifid at the end, pale, tending towards orange colour ; 

 flower produced in October before the leaves. 



This plant is clearly allied to C. Ionicus, and it is possible 

 that, as I only know the flower from dried specimens, I may have 

 mistaken a naked bracteate spathe for an involucrate spathe 

 without a bract, in which case this plant would stand next before 

 C. Ionicus. 



Sp. 2. C. Cambessedeanns. 



C. Cambessedesii, Gay, Bulletin de Ferussac, 15, 220. 

 Bot.Reg. 1845, t. 57,/. 4. 



C. cormi tunicis [vaginaceis basi in annulum persistentibus, Gay] foliaceis 

 lsevissimis, exteriore demum basi in fibras liberas soluta imo cormo 

 affixa [spatha bracteata, Gay'] tubo exserto limbo £ in uncise [in sicco 

 subalboj sepalis extus purpura plumeo-tristriatis, filamentis brevibus, 

 antheris luteis stigmata quatenus vidi simplicia aurantiaco coccinea 

 superantibus, [seminibus demum brunneis raphe et chalaza albidis, 

 Gay] ; fiore autumnali, foliis synanthiis. 



Native of Majorca. 



This very remarkable and pretty little autumnal crocus is only 

 known to me by two dried specimens kindly lent to me by M. 

 Gay, who describes the plant as having an involucre and a brac- 

 teate spathe, and states that a ring of the vaginaceous coats endures 

 at the bottom of the corm. He thinks it akin to C. insularis, in 

 which I cannot agree with him. Foliaceous coats quite smooth, 

 affixed to the bottom of the corm ; limb A of an inch long [seem- 

 ingly whitish] with three deep purple feathery stripes on the out- 

 side of each sepal, filaments short, anthers golden, as far as I have 

 seen longer than the stigmas, which are orange-red and simple. 

 Seeds, according to M. Gay, ultimately brown with pale raphe 

 and chalaza. I have as yet tried in vain to procure the plant 

 alive. 



Sect. 2. Parallelofibrosi. Bulb-coats with parallel fibres. 



Sp. 3. C. pyrenceus.* Parkinson, Paradisus, 1629. 



C. nudiflorus. Smith, Eng., Bot. 1798, f. 491 

 (very bad). 



C. multifidus. Ramond, Bull, de la Soc. Philom. 

 1800. 



C. speciosus. Eng. Bot. Suppl. 2. 2752. 

 C. cormo ex basi et zonis omnibus aucto stolonibus elongatis, tunica foliacea 



