FRHILLARIA, 



i35 



F.grceca (the Greek Snake's-head) is a very 

 handsome and well-marked species. It is per- 

 fectly hardy in the open air, and an excellent 

 bulb for exposed situations, its sturdy stems 

 being proof against all weathers. The bulbs 

 increase with great rapidity. In this species 

 the flowers are hardly chequered at all ; each 

 segment, however, has a green line down its 

 centre, though in some forms this line is ab- 

 sent, and its place taken by the red or purplish 

 red of the segments with a few brown spots. 



F. imperialis (Crown Imperial) and varie- 

 ties constitute, for the border at least, the 

 showiest and boldest of the genus. The blos- 

 soms, which in all the varieties are by far the 

 largest of the genus, are of various shades of 

 colour — yellow, sulphur, red, orange-red, and 

 a variety with red blossoms and variegated 

 foliage. Perhaps the finest form yet known 

 of this plant is that figured in The Garden as 

 F. i. longipetala, very handsome in colour. 



F.latifolia. — A variable species with flow- 

 ers borneonstemsabout 1 foot high, pendulous, 

 and varying in colour through various shades 

 of purple, black, lilac, and yellow. Among 

 the principal varieties are Black Knight, Cap- 

 tain Marryat, Cooper, Jerome, Maria Gold- 

 smith, Marianne, Pharaoh, Rembrandt, and 

 Shakespeare. They grow freely in an open 

 situation in any soil, and are excellent for na- 

 turalising. Caucasus. 



F. lutea (great yellow Fritillary). — A fine 

 species nearly allied to F. lati folia. It is also 

 a native of the Caucasus, and a rare plant in 

 gardens. The leaves are spear-shaped, about 

 4 inches long ; the flowers, coming in April 

 and May, are yellow, tessellated with pale pur- 

 ple markings. 



F. meleagris (Snake's-head) is an elegant 

 native plant, of which there are several varie- 

 ties. It is 9 to 18 inches high, bearing in 

 early summer a solitary drooping flower, tes- 

 sellated with purple on a pale ground. The 

 chief varieties are — alba, white ; nigra, pur- 

 plish-black; pallida, light purple; angustifolia, 

 with narrow leaves; major, with larger flowers; 

 prcecox, which flowers about a week earlier 

 than the other forms ; Jfavida, yellowish; and 

 the rare double variety. All forms of this plant 

 may be used with excellent effect. It grows 

 freely in grass not mown early, and is there- 



fore admirable for the wild garden; best in 

 cool, alluvial meadows. Flowering but a short 

 time in sunny weather, it is best for the wild 

 garden, and should be planted in various as- 

 pects. 



F. pallidiflora. — A distinct kind, large and 

 free, with pale yellow flowers, chequered 

 within. A feature of the kind is the leafy na- 

 ture of the plant, so much so that the flower- 

 buds emerge in some instances from a cluster 

 of glaucous leaves at its summit. The plant is 

 of easy culture in rich sandy loam. Height 

 about 1 2 inches. Siberia. 



F. pudica. — One of the most beautiful of 

 hardy bulbs; a native of the Sierra Nevada of 

 California, where it grows in a dry region. It 

 is one of the best spring flowers, being near- 

 ly 6 inches high, and having bright golden- 

 yellow flowers, graceful in form and drooping 

 like a snowflake. It thrives in warm, sunny 

 borders of loamy soil. 



F. pyrenaica (black Snake's-head) was in 

 cultivation previous to 1605, and though the 

 flowers are small, they are so abundant as to 

 make it welcome as a border bulb. The leaves 

 are thickish, glaucous, and somewhat distant 

 on the stem. The flowers are about half the 

 size of those of F. meleagris, not chequered, 

 and emit a disagreeable odour. 



F. recurva. — A native of California, differ- 

 ing from the European Fritillaries in the 

 structure of its bulbs. It is a difficult plant to 

 grow, the old bulbs breaking up and producing 

 bulbils from the scales, the stem, from 2 to 

 3 feet high, bearing in April numerous orange- 

 red flowers, the inside spotted red on a yellow 

 ground. It thrives best in a sandy, peaty soil 

 on a warm sheltered border, and it is best to 

 protect the bulbs in winter. 



F. Walujewi. — A distinct and fine plant ; 

 worth a place in all collections. Externally 

 the blossoms are whitish and shaded with dove 

 colour, internally marked with white on a 

 crimson-brown ground. There are, however, 

 varying degrees of these shades in the collected 

 plants. The species is quite hardy, succeeds 

 well in loam and peat, reaching 1 5 inches high. 

 The large, solitary, drooping blossoms are dis- 

 tinct and handsome, and in a large group give 

 a fine effect. Turkestan. 



G. Reuthe. 



