L ACHE N ALIAS. 



225 



the perianth segments, the colour, shape, and direction of the 

 flowers, and the habit of the plant. I procured specimens, and 

 submitted them to Mr. Baker, who says : " Tricolor, not far off 

 type." A plant called L. tigrina Warei should be L. tricolor 

 Warei. Flowers of this, from bulbs obtained from Mr. Ware, 

 have been submitted to Mr. Baker, who agrees in this opinion. 

 The following notes in the Garden (March 21, 1885) about 

 some Lachenalias prove this: "A series of varieties of these 

 pretty plants, from Mr. Ware, shows what a diversity of colour 

 there is now among them. Another interesting plant is L. tri- 

 color Warei, a variety which Mr. Baker, of Kew, recently 

 named. It reminds one of L. quadricolor, and seems to be 

 intermediate between that kind and tricolor." 



L. tricolor. — From a gardening point of view, L. tricolor and 

 its varieties form the backbone of the genus, and they alone are 

 sufficient to secure a firm footing for the genus in gardens. 



L. tricolor is a very variable species, widely variable, if 

 L. aurea is to be regarded as a variety, and about these varieties 

 there exists endless confusion. The following is a list of the 

 well-marked varieties : — ■ 



1. L. tricolor. 



2. L. tricolor, var. quadricolor. 



3. L. tricolor, var. quadricolor maculata (superb a of gardens). 



4. L. tricolor, var. Warei. 



5. L. tricolor, var. luteola. 



6. L. tricolor, var. aurea. 



1. L. tricolor. — In most gardens, L. quadricolor is grown 

 for L. tricolor. Baker takes for his type the plant figured in the 

 Botanical Magazine, table 82, and this should generally be 

 adopted. It will be noticed that in this plant the bases of the 

 flowers are red, passing into yellow and then into green, and 

 that there are no red or purple markings at the points of the 

 perianth segments. 



L. tricolor is a vigorous free-growing plant, the leaves 

 being about 12 inches long and 2 inches broad, glaucous green 

 above, obscurely blotched, paler beneath, and narrowing into a 

 point. Scapes stout, at first quite erect, afterwards becoming 

 sickle-shaped, blotched with long purple patches, and covered 

 with bloom. Flowers twelve to twenty-four, somewhat more than 

 an inch long, inner segments about twice as long as the outer. 



