NAT. ORDER. 
LiliacecB. 
FRITILLARIA IMPERIALIS. CROW]S IMPERIAL. 
Class VI. Hexandria. Order I. Monogynia. 
Gen. Char. Calyx none. Corolla six-petaled, bell-shaped, and 
spreading at the base. Petals oblong, parallel. Stamens have 
six subulate filaments approximating to the style. 
Spe. Char. Anthers quadrangular, oblong, erect. Pistill an oblong 
germ, three-cornered. Stigma triple, spreading blunt. Sttjk 
trifid, with three stigmas. Seeds many, flat, in a double row, 
This plant belongs to a genus comprising those of the bulbous- 
rooted kinds, and of a flowering nature. The root of this plant is 
large, round, scaly, bulbous, of a yellow color, and a strong, foxy 
odor; the stalk rises to the height of four or five feet; it is strong, 
succulent, qjid garnished two-thirds of the length on every side with 
long, narrow leaves, ending in points, which are smooth and entire ; 
the upper part of the stalk is naked about a foot in length ; ihejiow- 
ers come out all around the stalk upon short foot-stalks, which turn 
downward, each sustaining one large flower ; above these rises a 
spreading tuft of green leaves, which are erect, and called the coma. 
It flowers in the beginning of April, and the seeds ripen in July. 
The chief varieties are : those with yellow flowers ; with large 
flowers ; and with double flowers ; but that which has two or three 
whorls of flowers, above all others, makes the most beautiful appear- 
ance, though it seldom produces its flowers after this manner the first 
year after removing. 
Pritillaria Meleagris. Chequered Lily. In this species the root is 
a solid bulb or tuber, about the size of a hazle-nut, white or yellow- 
ish-white, roundish, compressed, divisible intc several, and inclosed 
Vol. iv.— 104 
