258 



A HISTORY OF THE SPECIES OF CROCUS. 



the French have not since the occupation of Algiers. I have 

 possessed the species a few years through the kindness of M. 

 Gay, but I had seen the flower only in a dried state in the herba- 

 rium of Sir W. J. Hooker, till the 23rd of Sept., 1806, when 

 one of the roots having acquired a larger size, produced its flower 

 amidst seven erect leaves, having the general aspect of C. Clusi- 

 anus on a larger scale. The bulbs had previously been more 

 disposed to produce offsets than to increase in bulk. It is ob- 

 servable that C. versicolor, which Desfontaines' damaged speci- 

 men was said to resemble, stands next to this Crocus in affinity of 

 structure. It requires much care to distinguish a dried specimen 

 of C. suaveolens from C. Salzmannianus, and that plant is closely 

 allied to Versicolor. 



Sp. 7. C. versicolor. Ker, in Bot. Mag., 1110. 

 C. "meridialis. Osborne's Catalogue. 



C. tun. vag. duabus interioribus infra non circumscissis fibris duris parallelis 

 confertis superne acute confluentibus prope basim affixis, foliacea ex- 

 teriore nitida membranacea infra med.affixa, involucre- apiculato spatba 

 dimidio breviore, spatha biflora exserta bracteani loratam angustam 

 aequante, perianthii fauce laevi [intus pallide flavescente] filamentis 

 brevibus \ unc. infra faucem insertis, stigmatibus subtruncatis, foliorura 

 canaliculis nervatis, marginibus (ssepe obsolete) subscabris, seminibus 

 e majoribus badiis. Flore verno. 



Var. 1. Princeps ; Bot. Mag. 1110. 



Varietas est in hortis nata, foliorum canaliculis uninervibus. 



Var. 2. Gal lie us ; 



Canaliculis binervibus, sepalis extus pallide stramineis tristriatis, 

 petalis extus plumeo-purpurascentibus, fauce intus alba vel pallide 

 lutescente. 



Wild in the south of France, near Nice. 



Crocus versicolor is well known to cultivators, and many 

 handsome varieties have been raised, and are sent every year 

 from the Dutch gardens. The wild plant is found in the neigh- 

 bourhood of Nice, on the borders of France and Ital}-, but I do 

 not find that it has obtained a place in the Italian flora. The 

 plant figured in the Bot. Mag., to which Mr. Ker originally gave 

 the specific name, is certainly one of the garden varieties, for I 

 cannot find that it is anywhere found wild with the flower exactly 

 similar. The vaginaceous coats of this species have parallel 

 fibres, and are inserted near the base of the corm ; the outer 

 foliaceous coat is smooth and shining, and attached below its 

 middle. The prevailing colour of the flower is white, some- 

 times suffused with purple, and generally more or less richly 

 streaked with purple on the outside. The throat inside is smooth, 

 by which it may be readily distinguished from C. vernus, which 

 has the inside of the throat always white and hairy ; that of 

 Versicolor is sometimes white, sometimes pale yellow. The 



