834 
THE GARDENING WORLD. 
Notes on . . . 
Our Illustrations. 
ON CENTRE SHEET (pages 832 and 833). 
Lychnis Lagascae. 
Nearly all the species of Lychnis in gardens, 
whether annual or perennial, are great 
favourites of gardeners and the owners of 
gardens. The species under notice is one 
of the dwarfest growing, seldom exceeding 
4in. to 6in. in height, though it is somewhat 
spreading in habit, and may have longer 
stems under good cultivation. The habit 
of the plant renders it well adapted for plant¬ 
ing on the rockery, and if planted in situa¬ 
tions well exposed to sunshine it dowers pro¬ 
fusely during the end of spring and the early 
part of summer. The dowers are of a bright 
rose, sometimes with a white centre, ana 
though less than an inch in diameter, their 
numbers make up for any lack in size. In 
proportion to the size of the plant they are, 
however, sufficiently large, bright in colour, 
and numerous to be highly effective in their 
season^ As may be seen by reference to our 
illustration, it is also well adapted for culti¬ 
vation m small pots and pans tor the bright¬ 
ening of the greenhouse or Alpine house, if 
such exists on the establishment. Theasterns, 
leaves, and all parts of the plant are slender, 
but no support of any kind is required. Being 
a native of Spain, it is hardy in this country 
when planted in a well-drained situation, and 
on a sunny aspect, as on the rockery at Kew. 
Cattleya schilleriana Westfield var. 
Our illustration of this grand variety re¬ 
presents a bloom of a plant that appeared at 
the Temple Show which opened on May 
30th last. As we described m our issue for 
June 10th, it was the darkest variety of the 
typical C. schilleriana which we had seen. 
The sepals and petals were of rich dark 
brownish-purple, thickly marked with black 
blotches all over the surface. The illustra¬ 
tion scarcely does justice to the variety, inas¬ 
much as it was taken from a painting 
executed when the flower was practically fad¬ 
ing. The picture, however, shows the natural 
size of the flower, which would be about 5 in. 
across the petals, if the points were spread 
out flat. The lip was also much darker than 
usual, being chiefly of rich deep carmine, 
with paler areas reduced to narrow white lines 
chiefly in the centre of that segment. The 
side lobes were, of course, paler. The plant 
had also been well grown, as the flower re¬ 
presented was one of six on a spike. An 
award of merit was accorded it when ex¬ 
hibited by Francis Wellesley, Esq., TVest- 
field Common, Woking. 
Dracaena surculosa maculata. 
The ordinary form of this plant is botani- 
cally interesting, although not particularly 
ornamental. It sends up a much larger 
number of suckers from the base than any 
other Dracaena, as is indicated by the specific 
name. The varietal name refers to the 
numerous yellow spots scattered all over the 
upper surface of the leaves, which are more 
or less whorled and elevated on slender stems. 
Several names have been given to this variety 
in gardens. When well grown a potful of it 
is very effective. It soon fills a pot with the 
numerous suckers thrown up from the root, 
forming in time a compact bush. It was in¬ 
troduced from Old Calabar in 1867, and there¬ 
fore requires a stove temperature, at least 
while making its growth. 
The Bulb-bearing Lily (Lilium bulbiferum). 
The above hardy Lily is a native of Europe, 
and in all probability was the first that came 
under the notice of botanists bearing bulbils 
or small bulbs in the axils of the leaves. 
These may be seen by reference to our illus¬ 
tration. In other respects the species is very 
closely allied to L. dauricum, the Siberian 
Red Lily. The last named has long been a 
favourite in gardens, and has been greatly 
improved by cultivation, as well as by raising 
new- varieties from seeds, whereas Lilium 
bulbiferum has been greatly neglected of re¬ 
cent years. The flowers of the specimen from 
which our illustration was prepared were 
considerably smaller than those of varieties 
of L. dauricum that would meet with favour 
among growers. It is, nevertheless, an inter¬ 
esting and pretty red Lily with erect and 
openly funnel-shaped flowers, with the charac¬ 
teristics just mentioned, by which it may 
readily be recognised. It is, at the same time, 
as hardy as the Tiger Lily, and we have seen 
it thriving and flowering year after year on a 
neglected border of an old garden in Kincar¬ 
dineshire. No hesitation need be entertained, 
therefore-, as to its hardiness if planted under 
similar conditions to the Tiger Lily. The 
specimens of this old but scarce Lily were 
given us by Messrs. R. Wallace and Co., Kiln- 
field Gardens, Colchester. 
Rhododendron flavum. 
The small truss of flowers on the top of the 
picture represents a cluster of flowers pro¬ 
duced from one bud of the old-fashioned 
Azalea pontica, more properly named as at 
the heading of this note. It is a native of the 
Caucasus, and, like the Azaleas of North 
America, it is deciduous. The flowers are pro¬ 
duced in early summer before the expansion 
of the leaves, and, though only of a clear light 
yellow, they are effective on account of the 
great quantity of flowers produced and their 
delicious scent, which fills the air for a con¬ 
siderable distance around the flowering plant. 
This scent reminds one of Honeysuckle, but 
is much more powerful. Spring is usually 
the- most suitable season for planting ever¬ 
green Rhododendrons, but as the leaves of 
this one will soon fall it may then be planted 
in a bed of peat or in soil containing a quantity 
of peat or leaf mould. It is not fastidious at 
all, provided the soil is well drained and 
sufficiently fine- to meet the requirements of 
the fine fibrous roots in this class of plants. 
Lime should not be used in the soil in any 
form whatever. 
Cypripedium Godefroyae citrinum. 
The flower represented under this name is 
characterised by having a pale lemon ground¬ 
work instead of creamy-white. The form of 
the flower is also different from the ordinary C. 
Godefroyae, being broader and rounder in all 
October 28, 19G5.' 
its parts. The dorsal sepal is nearly orbi¬ 
cular, and richly ornamented with crimson. 
The petals are roundly oblong, very broad and 
lichly chequered with crimson markings. 
The lip is white with a few small crimson 
spots in front. The staminode in the centre 
of the flower is also beautifully and finely 
spotted with crimson. An Award of Merit 
was accorded- it by the R.H.S. on July 3rd 
last when exhibited by Francis Wellesley, 
Esq., to whom we are indebted for the beauti¬ 
ful paintings from which our illustrations 
were prepared. 
A Fine Star of Bethlehem (Ornithogalum 
narbonense pyramidale). 
Some little time ago we illustrated a giant 
Star of Bethlehem, but this one is only about 
half the height or less, usually about 18 in. 
high, unless of very strong and vigorous 
growth. The flowers are produced in racemes, 
which commence flowering at the base of the 
stem, and as the latter elongates at the top 
more flowers reach the stage of expansion, and 
thus keep up a succession- for a considerable 
length of time. The flowers are white with a 
broad green band down the back of the seg¬ 
ments on the top third of their length. 
In every respect they may be compared to 
those of the common Star of Bethlehem, ex¬ 
cept for their much greater n-umber and t-he 
taller habit of the plant. As the bulbs are 
now at rest, or had been lifted when they 
reached the resting stage, they may now be 
planted with safety. The species is a native 
of the Mediterranean region and perfectly 
hardy. It may either be grown in the herba¬ 
ceous border or on the rockery. We are in¬ 
debted to Messrs. George Bunyard -and Co., 
Limited, Royal Nui’series, Maid-stone, for the 
flowers from which our illustration was pre¬ 
pared. 
THE SUPERB LILY. 
Lilium superbum. 
(See Supplement .) 
At one time the panicle represented by 
our supplementary illustration would have 
been- considered a first-class specimen on 
account of the number of flowers produced on 
a stem. Many years ago the plant was 
reckoned to produce, on an average, six to 
twelve flowers on a stem. The specimen re¬ 
presented carried about twenty, but we have 
seen as many as forty and fifty on strong 
plants in the American garden at Kew, where 
the bulbs are planted in peaty beds, such as 
are suited to the welfare of Rhododendrons 
and other allied American plants. 
The general aspect of the plant reminds one 
strongly of the Panther Lily (L. pardalinum), 
but in details it differs considerably. The 
size, shape, and colour of the flowers point 
veiy strongly to the Panther Lily. The 
arrangement of the flowers, however, is 
different, as may be seen by the figure. The 
flower stalks are given off at a sharp angle 
from the stem, and the stalks being short the 
flowers tend more and more to be crowded as 
they increase in number. In other words, 
the truss or panicle is never very wide. . In 
the Panther Lily, on the other hand, the 
lower stalks elongate, becoming branched, so 
that the panicle becomes quite wide at the 
base. , 
The stems of L. superbum are nearly always 
tinted with purple. The flowers may be 
described as of a brilliant orange-red, the 
lower half of each segment being beautifully 
spotted with claret or crimson markings, while 
