A HISTORY OF THE SPECIES OF CROCUS. 



287 



No trace of that variety can be discovered in a wild state, unless an 

 imperfect specimen of Dr. Sibthorp's from Crete, without bulb, 

 but with 5-streaked sepals, called in error C. vernus /6 (Smith, 

 Prod. Fl. Gr.), be this plant. It is very remarkable amongst all 

 Croci by the deep yellow of the sheaths which envelop the leaves 

 when it first pushes, and amongst the varieties of its species by 

 its 5-streaked sepals, and the stronger pubescence of its throat 

 and filaments. Bory de St. Vincent states that C. biflorus grows 

 all round the Saronic Gulf ; but the variety which was found 

 by Vrioni for me on the mountains near Napoli di Romania is a 

 small variety liker to Tenore's pusillus. I can assert that no 

 wild specimen of Miller's biflorus has been seen by me, and that 

 neither in England nor on the continent have I heard of its 

 having produced a seed, having become sterile through long 

 cultivation by offsets. Its seeds are offered in the Neapolitan 

 botanic garden, but two or three seeds, which were sent to me 

 from thence with a printed label marked C. biflorus, proved to 

 be of C. pusillus ; and Professor Tenore has admitted that it 

 does not produce seed at Naples. 



Var. 2. Adamicus is a most beautiful variety of annulatus. 

 Professor Steven informs me that it is a native of Caucasus, and 

 M. Gay is probably mistaken in referring it to Tauria, To his 

 kindness I was indebted for two bulbs, of which one has the 

 colour more inclining to purple, while the other is of a bluer tint 

 than any Crocus I have seen, excepting the dried specimens of C. 

 Byzantinus, in which the sepals are of a splendid blue in the dry 

 state, but I have not yet seen the fresh flower. Its seeds are bay, 

 while those of tiie Italian pusilli are of a very pale colour, tend- 

 ing to white. 



Var. 3. Nubigena was discovered near the summit of the 

 highest peak of Mount Gargarus by Mr. Lander, who kindly sent 

 me a few bulbs stated to have blue flowers. In this variety the 

 rings are ciliated by pointed fibres, which, together with some 

 other differences that are less marked in cultivation, induced 

 me to look upon it as a separate species ; but I have found the 

 like ciliation of the rings in the variety from the Steppes near 

 Odessa, which in flower comes near to the small pusillus of Te- 

 nore. Of three bulbs which survived, but which were checked 

 and did not perfect their flowers last spring, one had a white 

 flower, speckled without on the sepals, and two had the sepals 

 suffused and feathered with very dark brownish purple, one of 

 them having the anthers nearly black on the outside, though the 

 pollen was yellow, the other having them yellow. Much variety 

 and beauty in cultivation may be expected from this plant. 



Var. 4. Purpurascens has a full-sized flower, with the sepals 

 more or less purple on the outside, in some richly coloured. It 



