and petals bearded at the base; sylvestris petals bearded both ' 
at top and bottom: differences respectively accompanied by 
others in the habit. Biflora, it is said, is never found in 
wet sandy spots, as celstana and gesneriana often are, but 
always in clayey saline places. The bulbs of all are eaten 
raw by the Calmues, especially by their children. The 
bloom of biflora is slightly fragrant; and precedes by a few 
‘days that of the other two. The stem is generally 2- 
flowered; but oftener with 1, than either 3 or 4 flowers, 
which it sometimes has. - 
All Mr. Griffin’s samples were one-flowered. According — 
to Pallas, the secondary flower is generally abortive, having — 
a defective pistil, and occasionally only 4 petals, with the 
same number of stamens. May not the two- and more- 
flowered yarieties, be the produce of the incidental con- 
fluence of as many one-fiowered scapes? : 
Biflora is distinguished among its congeners by never 
having more than two leaves, and by a globular 3-cornered 
capsule with a small simple point, as well as by diminutive-~ 
ness. The corolla is white with a bright yellow base, and all 
the petals, as well as filaments, more or less bearded at the 
lower end, the outer three sessile, more spreading, twice 
narrower than the inner, and faintly tinged with a violet 
blue on the outside. The bulb-tuber dies when the capsule 
ripens, after producing another perpendicularly downwards 
from the base, besides a smaller lateral progeny; hence in 
old plants deep accumulations of the exuvize of preceding 
years are drawn up with the root, strung together by the 
stem of the year. 
The sample which has been drawn for this work, flow- 
ered in February last, in the greenhouse at South Lambeth. 
