256 



A HISTORY OF THE SPECIES OF CROCUS. 



exteriore supra vel rariiis infra medium, proxima summo fere cormo 

 affixa, gemma ascendente unica, vaginis circiter 6, intimis 2 subacutis, 

 proxima obtusa, inferioribus truncatis, foliis 3-6 hysteranthiis margini- 

 bus brevibus crassis reflexis, involucro laxo tubato 1-2-floro, spatha, 

 ebracteata elongata superne subvirescente tubo spatham superante fauce 

 laevi, limbo magno violaceo, filamentis lsevibus infra faucem insertis, 

 stigmatibus subfasciculate multifidis aurantiacis'antheras aureas super- 

 antibus, seminibus e majoribus obscure tristi-badiis raphe pallide sub- 

 lutescente angulate sub-oblongis. 



Inhabits the pastures of the Pyrenees up to 6000 feet, the 

 pasture of Cevennes, and Aquitania. Naturalized near War- 

 rington, Halifax, and Nottingham, but not a native of England. 



Corm increased by runners from the base and any of the zones ; 

 outer foliaceous coat attached above or less often below the middle 

 of the corm, the next nearly on the top ; involucre loose under- 

 ground, embracing one or two flowers ; spathe without any bract, 

 long, greenish up wards, ''tube exceeding it, throat smooth, limb 

 large purple ; leaves smooth, after the flowers ; seeds amongst the 

 largest, dark dull brown -bay oblong. Sir James Smith named this 

 involucrate Crocus with a conspicuously elongated green spathe 

 nudiflorus. Fortunately Parkinson's name has precedence. This 

 is a beautiful and free species, and flowers in September. A 

 white variety, if it could be found in the Pyrenees, where the 

 plant abounds, would be a great acquisition to our gardens. 



Sp. 4. C. Asturicus. Herbert, Bot. Mag., 3998, f. 2. 



C. cormo ut in Pyrenseo, spatha subvirescente f unc. exserto, tubo purpureo 

 infra pallidiore spatham \\ unc. superante, limbo 1^ vel 1-^ unc. pur- 

 pureo, laciniis (sepalis prsecipue) tristriatis, petalis f unc. latis barba ad 

 basim densa pallida, sepalis-^ unc. latis, fil. albis ore ipso insertis jg unc, 

 antheris aureis ultra f unc, stylo aurantiaco multifido antberas non 

 sequante primulam leviter redolente ; fiore autumnali. 



Native of the hills of Asturia, near Gijon and Santander. 



I was fortunate in raising this plant from a single seed which 

 fell out of a specimen in Sir Wm. Hooker's herbarium, from the 

 maritime hills of Asturia, which had been mistaken for Pyrenams. 

 It agrees with that plant in producing its offsets on runners, but 

 differs in having a bearded throat and deeper colour, being smaller 

 in all its parts, and flowering at least a month later. 



Sect. 3. Subparalleli. Bulb-coats with confluent parallel 

 fibres. 



Sp. 5. C. serotinus. Parad. Lond. t. 30, Bot. Mag. t. 

 1267, excluding the synonyms. 



C. cormo e majoribus subrotundo, tunica vaginacea fibris parallelis snperne 

 confluentibus, foliacea exteriore membranacea supra medium cormum, 

 interioribus 3 gradatim altius affixis, gemmse vaginis circiter 5, 2 interi- 

 oribus acutis caeteris obtusis vel truncatis, involucro tubato acuto inter- 



