Читать книгу Floral Illustrations of the Seasons. Consisting of the Most Beautiful, Hardy and Rare Herbaceous Plants, Cultivated in the Flower Garden онлайн

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N. bulbocodium. N. triandrus. — poeticus. — tenuifolius. — angustifolius. — incomparibilis. — biflorus. — bicolor. — odorus. — minor. — tenuior.

Pl. 4.

Plate 5. Erythronium Dens Canis. Drawn from Nature by M.R. Engraved by R. Havell Jun^r.

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Common Dog's-tooth Violet.

Class and Order.—Hexandria Monogynia.

Syn. Erythronium dens canis. Curt. Bot. Mag., p. 5.

Root bulbous, oblong—leaves radical, broad, lanceolate, somewhat undulate, marked with brown—stem naked, erect—flowers solitary, drooping—corolla campanulate, composed of six equal oval-shaped petals, of a lilac hue, inclining to pink—stamens six, terminated by oblong purple anthers—germen superior—style longer than the stamens—stigma divided into three parts. When the flowers are fully expanded the petals are reflexed. The white variety differs only in the colour of the flower.

There are few plants more desirable for a flower garden than the Erythronium dens canis, and its white variety; and none contribute more to the beauty of our borders in the month of March, or beginning of April. It is a native of Hungary, and some parts of Italy, and was introduced into this country in the year 1596. These plants like a light soil, mixed with bog, and are propagated by offsets, which may be removed any time after the leaves decay; but the roots should not be kept long out of the ground, as they are liable to shrink. Miller mentions two species of the lilac Erythronium; but his distinctions, founded only on the breadth of the leaves, and colour of the flower, would not be sufficient to form a different species. It is, however, worthy of remark, that the leaves of those bulbs which do not bear flowers, are broader and rounder than the others. There are two other species, mentioned by Pursh, in his "Flora of North America," vol. i. p. 230, both bearing yellow flowers, one of which is occasionally seen in our gardens.—Erythronium Americanum.