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smooth, dark purple. Bractes sessile, ovate, acute, concave.
Pedicles triangular, sulcate, clothed with a few short
inconspicuous hairs on the upper part, as is also the ovarium.
Perianthium'^eiAA.tke, connivent, but spreading at
the mouth, deeply 6-parted: the three outer segments lanceolately
spathulate, acute, concave, veined, keeled at the
back, the keel and point clothed with short rough hairs,
outside of a pale orange-colour, tinged with red, green near
the point, inside rather paler; inner segments a little longer,
convolute, and tubular from the middle to the base,
inclosing the honey, the points spreading flat, broadly
wedge-shaped and irregular, also strongly keeled at the
back, which is of a green colour; inside green, elegantly
spotted and striped with dark purple. Stamens 6, inserted
in the base of the perianthium; filaments straight at first,
afterwards declining, very rough, being clothed with a
short gland-like pubescence; pollen brown. Ovarium below
the perianthium, 6-angular, slightly pubescent. Style
short, erect, about half the length of the Stamens, clothed
with the same gland-like pubescence. Stigma trifid, the
laciniae at first connivent, afterwards spreading. Capsule
very large, triangular, narrow at the base, and broad at the
end, 3-celled, and many seeded. Seeds about the size of
small peas.
This handsome plant is a native of Mexico, and we believe
has now flowered with us for the first time in this
country; it is quite hardy, having stood three Winters in our
garden by the side of a wall in a southern aspect, without
protection; the seed from which our plant was produced,
was given us by Mrs. Manners Sutton, the Archbishop of
Canterbury’s Lady, and was sown at once in the open border
; it first showed flower last Autumn, but it came too late,
so that it did not expand; this Summer it began flowering
the beginning of August, and continued to produce different
flowering shoots until the middle of October, and is ripening
abundance of seeds : it is planted about 6 inches deep in a
light sandy soil.
1. The three outer leaflets o f the Perianthium. 2. The three inner ditto, the
Stamens inserted in their base. 3. The other three Stamens, with the upper
part o f the Perianthium taken from them, two o f them burst, showing the pollen.
4. Ovarium. 5. Style, and trifid Stigma. 6. Filament removed from the
anther, to show its slender point.