﻿. ( 137 .) 



CRO'CUS* *. 



Linnean Class and Order. Tria'ndria+, Monogy'nia. 



Natural Order. Irioe e J. Dr. R. Brown . — Lind. Syn. p. 254 ; 

 Introd. to Nat. Syst. of Bot. p. 260. — Rich, by Macgilliv. p. 408. — 

 Loud. Hort. Brit p. 137. — Irides, Jus. Gen. PI. p. 57. — Sin. Gr. 

 of Bot. p. 76 . — EnsaTvE, Linn . — Ker, in Annals of Botany, v. i. 

 p. 219.— Musales ; sect. Narcissinte ; type, IriihcejE; subty. 

 CrociDjE ; Burn. Outl. of Bot. pp. 137, 441, 450, & 451. 



Gent. Char. Calyx (see fig. 1 *.) radical, of 2 unequal, mem- 

 branous, tubular sheaths, single-flowered. Corolla ( PerianthiumJ 

 (fig. 2.) superior; tube (see fig. 2*.) cylindrical, upright, 3 or 4 

 times the length of the limb, which is regular, in 6 elliptic-oblong, 

 equal segments, 3 of them partly internal. Fdaments 3, in the 

 mouth of the tube (see fig. 3, a.) shorter than the limb. Anthers 

 (see fig. 3, b.) arrow-shaped, upright. Germen at the root, in- 

 ferior, roundish. Style (see fig. 3, c.) thread-shaped, very long, 

 rising as high as the stamens. Stigmas (see fig. 3, d.) 3, dilated 

 upwards, variously folded, jagged, or many-cleft. Capsule (fig. 4.) 

 membranous, of 3 cells, and 3 valves (fig. 5.). Seeds (fig. 6.) 

 several, globular. 



The inferior corolla with a very long, slender tube ; a 6-parted, 

 equal, inflated, upright limb ; and the 3, plaited, many-lobed 

 stigmas ; will distinguish this from other genera in the same class 

 and order. 



Four species British. 



CRO'CUS NUDIFLO'RUS. Naked-flowering Crocus. 



Spec. Char. Stigma upright, within the flower, in 3 deeply 

 lacinated tufted segments. Flowers unaccompanied by leaves. 



Engl. Hot. t. 491. — Sm. FI. Brit. v. i. p. 41. Engl. FI. v. i. p. 47. — With. 

 (7th ed.) v. ii. p. 95. — Gray’s Nat. Arr. v. ii. p. 195. — Litidl. Syn. p.255. — 

 Hook. Brit. FI. p. 17. — Purt Midi. FI. v. iii. p. 6. — Perry’s PI. Varvic. Selectaj, 

 p. 4. — Walk. FI. of Oxf. p. 11. — Crocus speciosus, Engl. Bot. Snppl. t. 2752. — 

 Crocus montanus autumnalis, Johnson’s Gerarde, p. 154. — Colchicum com. - 

 mune, Deering’s Catal. of Plants growing about Nottingham, p. 57. 



Localities. — I n sandy inundated meadows. Very rare — Lancash. About 

 a mile and a half from Liverpool, on the road to Allerton: Mr. Shepherd, 

 Curator of the Liverpool Botanic Garden. Meadows near Warrington: Mr. 

 Wilson. — Nottinghamsh. “ In the greatest profusion, between Nottingham 

 Castle and the river Trent, in meadows whose soil is naturally sandy, hut from 

 the annual overflowings of the river it is converted into nearly equal parts of 

 sand and clay. There this plant enamels some acres of ground every Autumn, 

 and has been mistaken by strangers for a piece of water.” Rev. Mr. Becher, 

 in Eng. Bot. — Stajffordsh. At Shut-end, near Dudley : Rev. W. T. Bree. In 

 the second field from the south-east corner of Wolstanton Church-yard, near 

 Newcastle: Oct. 1829, Mr. A.R, Burt, of Chester. — Warwicksh. In Pigwell 

 fields and Lammas fields, Warwick: Mr. VV. G. Perry. — Yorksh. Pastures 

 near Halifax : Rev. Mr. Wood. 



Figs. 1 & 2. A Plant in flower, showing the Bulb, the membranous, tubular 

 Sheaths, and the Corolla. — Fig. 3. Part of the Tube of the Corolla opened verti- 

 cally to show the 3 Filaments, a ; the Anthers, b ; the Style, c; and the deeply- 

 lacinated tufted Stigma, d. — Fig. 4. A Capsule. — Fig. 5. A transverse section 

 of ditto. — Fig. 6. A Seed. — Fig. 7. A Plant in leaf. 



* From croce, Gr a thread or filament, from the appearance of the saffron 

 of the shops, which is the dried stigmas of Crocus sativus. Dr. Hooker. 

 f See folio 56, note t- 1 See Iris Pseud-acorus, folio 82, a. 



