NAT. ORDER. LILIACE^. 
105 
by the withered, wrinkled bulb of the preceding )ear, as if in a 
case; the stem varies in height, sometimes six, and sometimes even 
eighteen inches high, and still advancing a considerable after flower- 
ing ; it comes out from the side of the root, is simple, upright, round, 
smooth, glaucous, and very often of a purple color ; the leaves from 
three to six, grass-like, distantly alternate, half embracing, round on 
the under, and hollow on the upper side, somewhat twisted and 
glaucous ; the flower usually single, sometimes two, or even three 
on the top of the stem, large, pendulous, at iirst somewhat pyramidal, 
but afterwards bell-form, chequered with purple and white, or purple 
and greenish yellow. It is a native of southern countries of Europe, 
and flowers in April and May. 
There are numerous varieties of this : the Common Purple, the 
Blood Red, the White, the Great Purple Red, the Double Blush, the 
Purple Yellow, the Chequered Yellow, the Great Yellow Italian, 
the Small Italian, the small Portugal Yellow, the Black, and the 
Spanish Black. 
Fritillaria pyrenaica. Black Fritillary. This species has a 
double, fleshy bulbous root ; the leaves are broader, and of a deeper 
green than in the first ; the lower leaves are opposite, but those 
above alternate; the stem is from one to two feet high, terminated 
by two flowers of an obscure yellow color, and spreading more at 
the brim than those of the first, but turned downwards in the same 
manner. It flowers in the latter part of May, and is a native of 
France. 
Fritillaria Persica. Persian Lily. This species has a large, 
round root ; the stem rises about three feet high, the lower part 
closely garnished on every side with leaves, which are about three 
inches long and half an inch in breadth, of a grey color, and twisted 
obliquely ; the flowers are in a loose spike at the top, forming a pyr- 
amid, shorter than the other sorts, spreading wider at the brim, and 
not bent down, of a dark purple color, appearing in May. They 
* have not been known to produce seeds in this country. 
