PANCR 
oblong, white, fending out feveral thick flefhy fibres, 
which ftrike downward. Leaves on very long footftalks, 
fome ovate, others heart-fhaped, about feven inches long 
and five broad, ending in points, having many deep lon¬ 
gitudinal furrows; they are of a light-green, and their 
borders turn inwards. Stalk thick, round, and fueculent, 
riling near two feet high, fuftaining at the top feveral 
white flowers, fhaped like thofe of the other forts, but the 
petals are broader, the tube is fhorter, and the ftamens 
are not fo long as the petals. There is a thin fheath, 
which fplits open longitudinally. Native of Amboyna. 
a. P. Americanum grows naturally in the iflands of the 
Weft Indies, where it is called white lily. This has a 
pretty large bulb, a little flatted at the top, covered with 
a brown fkin. Leaves near a foot and a half long, and 
little more than an inch broad, dark-green, and hollowed 
in the middle like the keel of a boat. Stalks near two 
feet high, thick, fueculent, fuftaining at the top eight or 
ten, white flowers, fhaped like thofe of maritimum, but of 
a purer white, and having a ftrong fweet odour, like that 
of balfam of Peru. The flowers feldom continue longer 
than three or four days, and in very hot weather not fo 
long. When tliefe fade, the germs, which are at the 
bottom of the tubes, turn to fo many oblong bulbs, which 
are irregular iff form, and, when ripe, drop off in the 
ground, where they put out fibres and become plants. 
( 3 . P. latifolium alfo grows naturally in the Weft Indies, 
where it is not diftinguifhed from the preceding. This 
however differs from it, in the leaves being much longer 
and broader than that; for thefe are near two feet long, 
and more than three inches broad ; hollowed like the 
keel of a boat, like the other. The flowers are larger, 
the petals longer, and the feent not fo ftrong as that of 
the former. The roots flower in every feafon of the year. 
Cultivated by Mr. Miller in 1759. 
y. Mr. Miller has added another fort in his laft quarto 
edition of 1771, which he names P.ovatum. This alfo 
grows naturally in the Weft Indies; and has a large 
roundifh bulb, from which arife feveral ovate leaves, 
about a foot long, and fix inches broad in the middle, 
drawing to a point at both ends ; they are of a deep green, 
and have many longitudinal furrows. The ftalk is thick 
and fueculent, a foot and a half high, fuftaining at the 
top fix or eight white flowers, of an agreeable fweet feent, 
fmaller than thofe of the preceding (Americanum); the 
petals are narrower, the tubes fhorter, and fo are the 
fpathes. Cultivated by Mr. Miller in 1771. 
11. Pancratium rotatum, or large-crowned pancratium : 
fheath with few flowers ; leaves linear; ftamens between 
the jagged fegments of the horizontal nedlary. Native 
of Carolina, in the ground that is occafionally overflowed, 
from whence it was brought by the younger Michaux to 
Paris, and fent to Mr. Loddige before the year 1803. It 
flowers in the ftove during moft part of the fummer, and 
increafes greatly by offsets from the root. Leaves from 
half an inch to an inch wide. Flowers two, three, or 
more, with a fegment of the fheath under each, white, 
nearly a fpan in diameter, from the great length of the 
linear channelled petals. The great flatnefs, and wide 
expanfion, of the cup of the neflary, with -its varioufly- 
jagged fegments, between which the wide-fpreading 
ftamens, about twice its length, are attached, form the 
ftriking character of the prefent fpecies, whi,ch Michaux 
in his Flora miltook for the Mexicanum. 
12. Pancratium calathinum, or white Brafilian pancra¬ 
tium: fheath with few flowers; leaves linear; ftamens 
between the jagged fegments of the cup-fhaped neftary, 
and fcarcely exceeding them in length ; tube nearly cy¬ 
lindrical. Native of the Brafils, from whence it was re¬ 
ceived by the late lady Amelia Hume in 1794.. The leaves 
are obtufe, an inch wide, and two feet long. Flowers 
two or three from a fheath of as many or more divifions, 
white, very fragrant, fomewhat drooping. 
13. Pancratium Amancaes, or golden pancratium: 
fheath with few flowers 5 leaves lanceolate 5 ftamens be- 
A T I U M. 323 
tween the abrupt-toothed fegments of the cup-fhaped 
neffary, and about the fame length ; tube with fix furrows. 
Native of Lima and Peru. Imported from the Brafils, in 
1808, by Meffrs. Middlemift and Wood at Shepherd’s 
Buffi, in whofe ftove it flowered in July 1809. This fpe¬ 
cies is diftinguifhed from all the preceding by the golden 
yellow of its flowers, which are deferibed as exceedingly 
fragrant, and ufed by the Peruvian women to ornament 
their hair. The fhape and fize of the flowers moft agree 
with the preceding. The leaves are more lanceolate, and 
broader, tapering to a point. 
14. Pancratium humile, or fmall pancratium: fheath 
two-flowered ; leaves thread-fliaped ; neftary cup-fhaped, 
very fhort, in fix obtufe cloven fegments ; ftamens fpread- 
ing, as long as the petals. Gathered by Cavaniiles in 
Andalufia, flowering in October, before the leaves come 
out. Thefe are two only, fcarcely fix inches long, very 
flender. Stalk not quite fo tall, flender, thread-fhaped, 
bearing two yellow flowers from one fheath, on unequal 
capillary ftalks. This appears to 11s a very doubtful Pan¬ 
cratium ; and, if the lobes themfelves of the neftary do 
not bear the ftamens, it ought to be removed to Nar¬ 
cissus. 
15. Pancratium fpeciofum, or great Weft-Indian pan- 
cratum : fheath many-flowered ; leaves elliptical ; nedtar^ 
with fix teeth bearing the ftamens; the intermediate ones 
fimple, acute. Native of the Weft Indies, flowering in a ftove 
moft part of the fummer. The leaves are of a very dark- 
green colour, from a foot and a half to two feet long, from 
three to four inches acrofs the broadeft part; in number 
uncertain, feveral frefh ones being produced each time the 
plant blooms, while the old ones do not decay in propor¬ 
tion, at leaft in our ftoves. Scape rather fhorter than the 
foliage, comprefled, ancipital, ftreakletted ; fpathe two 
inches or more in length, light-green. Flowers pure 
white, nearly nine inches long, very ornamental, ex¬ 
tremely fragrant, efpeciallyin the evening, retaining their 
feent for many months when dried. The cells of the ger- 
men in all the fpecimens w r e examined were difpermous, 
as in P. amboinenfe. We do not know a more delirable 
ftove-plant than this. It is the fineft of the whole genus, 
and moft generally cultivated by thofe who have the means 
to make it bloom in perfection, which fornetimes takes 
place twice in one fummer. The four laft fpecies are from 
Curtis’s Magazine: the prefent, which he calls “ baifam- 
feented fea-daffodil,” is reprefented on the annexed Plate. 
Propagation and Culture. The forts of the Eaft and 
Weft Indies are too tender to thrive in England out of a 
good ftove. If the pots be plunged in the bark-bed, they 
will thrive and flower very well. In the dry ftove, their 
flowers will not be fo ftrong, nor will they appear oftener 
than once a-year; whereas in the tan-bed, they will of¬ 
ten flower two or three times. They are propagated by 
offsets from the roots, or by the bulbs which fucceed the 
flowers. If the latter be planted in fmal'l pots filled with 
light earth from a kitchen-garden, and plunged into a 
moderate hot-bed, they will foon put out roots and 
leaves, and with care will become blowing roots in one 
year: if thefe are kept confiantly in the tan-bed, they 
will put out offsets from the roots, and thrive as well as 
in their native countries. 
7. This fort is hardy, and will thrive through the win¬ 
ter in the full ground ; in very fevere feafonsthe furface 
fhould be covered with'tanner’s-bark, fea-coal afhes, ftraw, 
or peafe-haulm. It is propagated either by offsets from 
the roots, or from feeds. The offsets will flower very 
ftrong the fecond year, whereas thofe which are railed 
from feeds feldom flowerin lets than five years. The roots 
fhould not be removed oftener than every third year, if 
they be expected to flower ftrong. The beft time to tranl- 
plant them is in the beginning of Odlober, foon .after 
their leaves decay. They fhould not be kept long 
out of the ground ; for, as they do not lofe their fibres 
every year, if thefe are dried, it greatly weakens the 
roots. It loves a light fandy foil, and a fheltered fituation; 
the 
