slightly branched, between those are two or three linear
or forked purplish spots : lower-petals ligulate, nearly
the same colour as the upper ones, but rather darker.
Filaments 10, collected at the base, seven bearing anthers,
upper one wide and flat like the others of this
section. Anthers seldom perfect. Style very hairy,
pale-coloured. Stigmas 5, red, reflexed.
The present very handsome plant is generally supposed
to be a genuine species, but we have scarcely
any doubt of its being a hybrid production, and intermediate
between P. triste and P. bicolor, as in every respect
it is as near as possible between the two; its flowers
are more beautiful than either, but it seldom bears
perfect anthers, another reason for believing it to be
a mule. In the specimen from which our drawing was
taken, the anthers were quite perfect, and, the plant
attempted to produce seed, but they all withered before
they came to perfection.
It is rather more difficult to manage than most of
its relatives, being very apt to look yellow and lose a
great part of its leaves if it chances to get overwatered.
The best sorb for it is an equal mixture of turfy loam,
peat, and sand, and the pots to be well drained with
small potsherds. Cuttings strike root freely, planted in
pots in the same kind of soil, and placed on a shelf in
the greenhouse.
Drawn at the Nursery of Mr. Colvill, from a plant
that flowered in autumn.