TRIGRIDIA CONCHIFLQRA W ATKINSON!. 
(Watkinson's Shell Tiger-flower.) 
Class. Order. 
MONADELPHIA. TRIANDRIA. 
Natural Order. 
IRIDACEJE. 
Generic Character Perianth six-leaved, petal- 
loid, three outer ones large, ovate, hollow at the base 
and sessile ; three inner ones smaller, clawed, con- 
tracted in the middle. Stamens three; filaments 
united into a long tube. Stigmas three, bipartite. 
Capsule oblong and angular. 
Specifjc^Character.— Stem angular. Leaves ensi- 
form, nerved. Perianth, three outer pieces oblong- 
ovate, acute ; three inner above the medium size, ovate, 
acute. 
Watkinsoni, a hybrid, habit of plant like T. pavonia. 
Flowers, three outer pieces orange-yellow, three inner 
pieces, deeply spotted with red and brown, sagittate. 
The Tigridias are now usually found in company with plants of an inferior or 
second-rate description ; they are, therefore, commonly grown in situations where their 
showy flowers are seldom seen to advantage. This is to be regretted; for although 
very fugitive in their duration, they yet deserve far more attention than is usually 
bestowed upon them. 
T. conchijiora Watkinsoni was raised by Mr. J. Horsefield of Whitfield, near 
Manchester, from seeds of the conchijiora fertilised by the pollen oi pavonia. The 
following is Mr. Horsefield's own account of it: — " About ten or twelve years ago 
I cut out the anthers of a flower of T. conchijiora, as soon as it opened in the 
morning ; towards noon of the same day, I took the burst anthers of a flower of 
T. pavonia, and dusted the stigmas of the former flower. The seed-vessel ripened, 
and a few seeds came to perfection ; three of these produced plants whose flowers 
combine the properties of the two species. In habit and strength this hybrid 
resembles T. pavonia, the male parent; but in colour and the markings of the 
flower, it resembles T. conchijiora, the female parent; the large outer sepals, 
however, are of a very deep yellow, inclining to orange, and sometimes elegantly 
streaked with red lines ; whilst the spotted centre equals, if not surpasses, the 
brilliancy of either of the species. One of its greatest merits is being so free a 
bloomer, and as easy to cultivate and increase as T. pavonia, whereas T. conchijiora 
is rather delicate, increases slowly, and is easily lost. I have grown the two together 
for some years, and whilst I can scarcely keep up a stock of T. conchijiora, the 
hybrid increases abundantly." 
