Bloss. 6-petals, beneath; the three inner petals the longest. Chives erect. Capsule nearly egg-shaped, three winged. Seeds globular.
SPECIFIC CHARACTER.
Lachenalia foliis geminis, lineari-lanceolatis; scapo erecto; corollis propendulis, cylindricis, quadricoloratis, cum limbo petalorum interiorum patulo.
Lachenalia with leaves in pairs, linearly lance-shaped; flower-stem erect; blossoms hanging down, cylindrical, and four-coloured, with the border of inner petals spreading out.
REFERENCE TO THE PLATE.
1. A Flower cut open, with the Chives remaining.
2. An inner Petal, with its Chive, shewn from the inside.
3. An outer Petal, shewn from the outside.
4. The Pointal complete.
About the year 1789, this very handsome species of Lachenalia was first received by Messrs. Lee and Kennedy, Hammersmith, from the Cape of Good Hope, sent in bulbs to them by J. Pringle, Esq. It is as hardy as the L. tricolor, to which it much inclines, well known to collectors, and is equally easily propagated; an excellent figure of which is to be found, in the 82d Plate of the Botanical Magazine of Mr. Curtis. The L. quadricolor is given as a synonym by Willdenow to L. pendula, a plant we have already figured, and from which this stands quite distinct in the conformation of every part; they are both to be found in the 2d Vol. of Icon. of Jacquin, from whom we copy our specific title, the pendula, t. 400, the quadricolor, t. 396.[Pg 17]