| Name of Variety. | Shape of leaves. | Shape and colour of ray. | Colour of spots. | ||
| Type | Linear | { | Golden, ½ in. wide | Reddish brown (numerous) | |
| Virginale | Linear | { | Golden, ½ in. wide | Golden yellow (numerous) | |
| Wittei | Linear | { | Golden, ¾ in. wide | } | Spots absent |
| Pictum | Linear | { | Gold-green, tips red, ¾ in. wide | } | Blood red (numerous) |
| Rubro-Vittatum | Linear | { | Golden, ½ in. wide | Blood red (numerous) | |
| Cruentum | Linear | { | Golden, ½ in. wide | Blood red (numerous) | |
| Platyphyllum | Palmate | { | Golden, ½ in. wide | Brown (few) | |
| Macranthum | Palmate | { | Golden, ½ in. wide | Golden (few) | |
| Alexandrae (hybrid between L. Auratum and L. Longiflorum) | Linear | Absent | Absent | ||
| Parkmanni (hybrid between L. Auratum andL. Speciosum) | Linear | { | Reddish, Indistinct | Red (numerous) | |
As we have said before, the flowers of L. Auratum are sometimes extremely numerous. We saw one plant last summer (we believe at the Royal Gardens, Kew) of one of the varieties of this species which bore thirty-seven well-developed blossoms.
But it is not the prize specimens of L. Auratum which are the most beautiful. Plants bearing four to six blossoms give the finest effects, for here each flower has room to fully expand, and so the extreme elegance of the blossoms can be appreciated. In plants bearing twenty or thirty blossoms on the other hand, the general effect from a distance is one of extreme luxuriance; but on closer examination the effect is not so striking, for the individual blossoms cannot be perfectly formed, and the result is often bizarre and unsatisfactory.
L. Auratum has an extremely strong scent, which though pleasant in the garden is far too overpowering in a room.
In no lily does one meet with such great variety as in this species. The blossoms are exceedingly variable; but there are some varieties which are sufficiently marked and constant to have gained special names.
There are eight named varieties of L. Auratum, and the difference between them is so striking that a person without previous knowledge would take them for separate species.
We append in tabular form the chief differences between these eight varieties.
All these varieties are fine, and are all worth growing; but some are expensive, and some are very difficult to cultivate.
Of all the varieties we prefer that known as Platyphyllum. Its fine large foliage, immense and gorgeous blossoms, and its hardy constitution, make this lily the most desirable of all. Indeed, we would put a well-grown sample of L. Auratum Platyphyllum in its perfection as the most beautiful of all the vegetable productions of our planet.
A few years ago L. Auratum Platyphyllum was a very rare lily; but last year this lily did exceedingly well, and consequently very good bulbs can now be obtained at a cheap rate. All over the country this variety did well last year, and many were the correspondents who wrote in enthusiastic measures to the various papers about this wonderful plant, which not a few of the writers imagined they had discovered.