ON THE SPECIES AND VARIETIES OF TULIPA. 



25 



the absence or presence of the tuft of hairs at the base of the 

 filament. 



The section Eriostemon, of which sylvestris may be taken 

 as the type, possesses this tuft of hairs ; and the section Leio- 

 stemon, of which Gesneriana may be taken as the type, is without 

 the tuft. 



The Leiostemeae may be separated into four groups as 

 follows : — 



I. — Eriobulbce, which has woolly outer bulb -coats, compara- 

 tively broad leaves, and bright red flowers with a large patch of 

 black at the base. The old well-known species of this group are 

 OciUis-solis, prcecox, and montana. Of this latter chrysantha 

 and Lehmanniana are only yellow-flowered varieties. Little 

 known species of this group are maleolens and lanata, the 

 latter closely allied to Oculis-solis and lately discovered in 

 Central Asia. T. sogdiana, Boiss, is a doubtful species, of which 

 I have only seen a small and incomplete specimen. 



II. — Clusiance, which has woolly bulbs, narrow leaves, and 

 glabrous stamens. Only two species are known, Clusiana and 

 stellata, which perhaps may run one into another. Stellata is 

 Himalayan, and Chtsiana extends from Portugal to Persia. 



III. — The Gesneriana, to which group the great mass of 

 garden Tulips belong. This group is marked by its glabrous 

 leaves and peduncle, and by the outer bulb-coats having only a 

 few short adpressed hairs on the inner side. Of this group there 

 are two sets of species, one with acute and the other with 

 obtuse perianth-segments. The two best known garden species 

 of this group are Didieri, a native of Savoy, of which Billietiana 

 is a yellow-flowered variety, and acuminata or comuta, the 

 Turkish Tulips, with its very narrow, acuminate perianth-seg- 

 ments. Two fine new Central Asian species are allied to 

 Didieri, viz. Kolpakowskiana (B. M. t. 6710) and Kesselringii 

 (B. M. t. 6754) and T. violacece (B. M. t. 7440) lately introduced 

 into cultivation from Southern Persia by Leichtlin. Less known 

 species or garden forms allied to Didieri are retroflexa, elegans, 

 iindulatifolia, Sintenesii, concinna, Dammanniana, Elwesii, 

 cruciata, vitellina, viridiflora, ciliatula, brachystemon, triphylla, 

 aristata, and oxypetala. Gesneriana is distinguished from 

 Didieri by its later flowering and by having its perianth - 

 segments rounded at the apex. It is very variable, and has been 



