  Class and Order. Hexandria Monogynia. Generic Character. Cor. hexapetaloidea irregularis. Filamenta fauci tubi inserta, declinata, inÆqualia proportione vel directione. Linn. fil. Specific Character and Synonyms. AMARYLLIS reginÆ spatha subbiflora, pedicellis divaricatis, corollis campanulatis breve tubulosis nutantibus, fauce tubi hirsuta, foliis lanceolatis patulis. Linn. fil. Ait. Kew. 416. Mill. ic. p. 16. t. 24. LILIUM americanum puniceo flore Belladonna dictum. Herm. par. 194. t. 194. 453 No453. Descr. "Bulb green, scape round, somewhat flattened: Corolla scarlet, with a bottom of a whitish green, the three outer petals round at the tip, the three inner fringed at the base; the style red, the flower stems seldom rise more than one foot high; each stem supports two, three, or four flowers, rarely more; they are large, and of a bright copper colour, inclining to red; the spathe which cover the buds before they open, divides into two parts to the bottom, standing on each side the umbel of flowers joined to the peduncles. "It flowered in Mr. Fairchild's garden at Hoxton, in 1728, when the late Dr. James Douglass caused a figure of it to be drawn, and wrote a folio pamphlet on it. He gave it the title of Lilium ReginÆ, because it was in full beauty on the first of March, which was the late queen's birth-day. Mr. Fairchild told me the roots were brought from Mexico; so he gave it the name of Mexican Lily, which is still continued to it by the English gardeners. It flowers constantly in the spring, when it is placed in a very warm stove. It is in beauty in February, and those which are in a moderate temperature of air will flower in March or April. "Not being so hardy as some others, it must be placed in a warm stove, and if the pots are plunged into a hot-bed of tanner's bark, the roots will thrive better, and the flowers will be strong. "It is increased by offsets." Mill. Dict. ed. Mart. |
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