C. abyssinicum has white flowers and is attractive, but it does cot grow well in the sandy soils of Florida.CH
C. amabile. Very much like C. augustum in growth and the flowers also much the same, but it is considerably smaller and multiplies rapidly by offsets. Every three or four years it must be replanted in fresh rich ground, and the offsets must then be removed. It is a very beautiful plant, and much more floriferus than the C. augustum, flowering in every month of the year. The perfume of the masses of flowers in spring and summer is so strong that it pervades the entire garden. It does not bear seeds in Florida, but the pollen is fertile and can be used in cross-breeding.CH
C. americanum. Common along muddy banks of lakes and rivers. A very beautiful pure white, intensely fragrant species and very valuable in hybridizing work. Flower-stem usually 3 feet high, bearing mostly four Sowers. Grows well in gardens, particularly in rich moist soil.CH
C. amaenum. A rather small-growing Asiatic species with long slender bulbs and white flowers tinged red on the outside. Rare.CH
C. asiaticum. The columnar stem-like bulb, about 12 to 15 inches long, grows mostly above the ground. In planting it should never be set deep in the ground; a few inches is sufficient. The leaves are arranged in a rosette. They are about 3 feet long, very broad near the bulb, gradually narrowing to a sharp point at the end. The color is light bluish green. Flowers almost all the year round, even in winter when the weather is warm, usually 20 flowers in an umbel being borne always a little above the foliage on a strong stem. The flowers are pure white, with linear narrow segments; filaments and stigma purplish red, yellowish white in the lower third. Strangely and deliciously fragrant. A real gem among our garden flowers. Hardy all over the Gulf Coast region, where it forms in time large and impressive clumps of tropical foliage. Bears large pea-green fleshy seeds abundantly. Excellent for raising hybrids.CH
C. augustum. "Great Mogul" of Barbados. The largest-growing of all our crinums, specimens 4 feet high and 6 to 8 feet in diameter being not uncommon. It needs rich moist soil and a fair amount of good fertilizer. Leaves are very broad, 4 to 5 feet long, narrowing gradually to a sharp point, deeply channeled. It blooms continually for months. Flower-stem an inch in diameter, purplish- red, 4 feet high, bearing a large umbel of glossy purplish crimson flower-buds which are pink inside after opening. Nearly twenty flowers to each umbel, giving a large mass of very beautiful and deliciously fragrant blossoms. This umbel is so large and heavy that it soon bends over and finally lies on the ground. For this reason, it is necessary to tie it to a strong bamboo stake. It is difficult to propagate, as offsets are formed slowly. A plant five years old has formed only two side shoots. Although it affords good pollen for hybridizing purposes, it does not seed. Hardy in New Orleans.CH
C. campanulatum (C. caffrum). Very distinct, with beautiful glaucous green leaves and umbels of six to eight rosy red campanulate flowers. The flowers are much recurved at their edges. it blooms several times each year. One plant, although eighteen years old, never made a side-shoot. It grows wild in ponds in southern Africa and very likely needs moist soil.CH
C. Careyanum (offered in the trade as C. virgineum which is really a white-flowering species from Brazil). It also goes under the name of C. grandum. This is a doubtful plant, being perhaps an old English hybrid. It is very distinct from all other crinums, very beautiful and deliciously fragrant and a night-bloomer. Flower- stem 3 feet high, with an umbel of six to eight pure white flowers with a faint red band in the center. The buds are reddish and the stem is purplish grayish green. Bears no seed.CH
C. caribeum. Reminds one of C. americanum, but flower-stem grayish purple on a green ground. Flowers pure white, very fragrant. Rare.CH
C. crassipes. Bulbs conical, very large, 8 to 10 inches in diameter. Forms offsets tardily, if at all. Flower-stem short. Flowers fifteen to twenty in an umbel, white, bell-shaped, faintly keeled with pink.CH
C. crubescens (usually advertised as C. fimbriatulum). One of the most common species in Florida gardens. Increases rapidly by offsets. Leaves long, thin and narrow, 2 to 3 feet long: flower- stem 2 to 3 feet tall, purplish green, carrying usually four to six very beautiful fragrant flowers, pure white with a faint pink keel, outside purplish red. Does not bear seeds, and pollen, and is useless for cross-breeding. Found everywhere in gardens.
C. fimbriatulum. Extremely rare, and not in the trade. Flowers pure white, with a soft red band in the center of each petal. One plant formed only five offsets in the course of eight years.CH
C. giganteum. Perhaps the most beautiful species, the leaves being as ornamental as an aspidistra or a dracena. Evergreen like C. pedunculatum, C. amabile, C. augustum, and C. asiaticum. The leaves are about 3 feet long, rich deep green with a slight bluish tint. It forms large clumps in the course of a few years. Flowers six to eight in an umbel, bell-shaped, creamy white in the bud, pure white when fully expanded, exhaling a very strong vanilla- like perfume. They appear six or eight tunes during the year, even in winter when the weather is warm. Needs rich moist soil and does not thrive satisfactorily on high dry Laid. An excellent species for hybridization.CH
C. imbricatum. Allied to C. giganteum, but bulbs much larger and leaves rather glaucous green, strongly nerved, with serrated edges. Flowers similar, but creamy white. Flowers usually two or three times during the year. This is as beautiful as C. giganteum, but it does not form such large clumps in the course of a few years. Seeds freely.
C. Kunthianum. A large-growing species, with a fine rosette of bright green spreading leaves and large umbels of pure white flowers. Its variety nicaraguense is a still larger-growing plant. The flower-stem is quite short, about a foot high, bearing five or six very large white flowers with a faint pink band in the center, purplish on the outside. The flowers of both are strongly fragrant.CH
C. longifolium. An excellent plant for hybridizing. The leaves are glaucous green, flowers eight to twelve in an umbel, pink, flushed with deeper red on the outside. A fine foliage plant, though flowers not very showy. The white variety, C. longifolium album, with very beautiful pure white bell-shaped flowers, is a very showy plant and much superior to the type.CH
C. Macowanii. Forms very large bulbs with long slender necks. A beautiful species with pink flowers, but very difficult to grow in light soils. It does not flower regularly each year.CH
C. Moorei. Bulb very large, 6 to 8 inches in diameter, with a very long slender, stem-like neck about 10 to 12 inches long. The leaves are very beautiful, long and thin and very wavy. It usually flowers in March in central Florida. Flowers four to ten in an umbel, bell- shaped, rosy or pinkish red and deliciously fragrant. There is a beautiful white form of this extremely beautiful species. Var. Sckmidtii, which usually flowers also in March or April. Both kinds bear seeds if hand-poll in a ted with their own pollen or crossed with different other species. This crinum will not thrive well in the light sandy soils. It requires a heavier soil with some clay in it, and it grows well only in a lath-house.CH
C. pedunculatum. Very rare in Florida gardens. Reminds one of C. tuiaticum, but the bulb is shorter, more massive and the leaves thinner and of u brighter green. Flowers twenty to twenty- five in an umbel, pure white and strongly fragrant. This plant needs rich mucky soil to do it a best. It does not thrive on dry ground. It is a much shyer bloomer than C. asiaticum, with which it is often confounded.CH
C. podophyllum. This is another evergreen species, almost a miniature C. imbricatum. Leaves glaucuous green, strongly nerved, with serrated edges. Bulb only a few inches in diameter and very short. Flower-stem about 10 inches high bearing only a few pure white strongly fragrant flowers. Flowers only once during the summer.CH
C. pratense. Bulb 5 to 6 inches in diameter. Flowers white. Requires moist rich soil. Rare.CH
C. purpurascens. This small species, with linear undulated leaves about a foot long, forms large clumps in rich moist soil* thriving with caladiums, marantas, ferns, and other shade-loving plants. Flowers five to six in an umbel, slightly red in bud and pink when expanded. Flower-stem purplish, only about 6 to 8 inches high.CH
C. Sanderianum (Milk-and-Wine Lily). Common in Florida gardens. Flowers white, keeled with bright red, deeper red on the outside. Flower-stems 3 feet high, carrying five or six flowers in the umbel. Bears no seed.CH
C. scabrum. One of the showiest. Flowers large, amaryllis- like, pure white, banded crimson, reminding one of Hippeastrum vittatum. Very fragrant, but flowers of short duration. Flowers three or four times during spring and summer. Bears seed abundantly and can be easily cross-fertilized with other species. Grows well on high dry pine land, but, like all crinums, requires rich soil.CH
C. variabile. When in bloom, this is the showiest of all the species. Bulbs very large, conical. Flower-umbels consist of fifteen to twenty large pure white bell-shaped flowers, being borne well above the foliage, standing upright. The flowers are faintly striped with pink. Three or four stems are usually pushed up at the same time from one large bulb, and beds consisting of twenty- five or fifty bulbs are a magnificent sight, as almost all the buds open at the same time. This crinum is strictly a night-bloomer, the flowers begin ing to open in the dusk of evening, remaining in perfect condition until sunrise. A clump or a bed of this species in full bloom during a moonlight night has a wonderful effect. It looks particularly beautiful under palms. This species is hardy as far north as southern Missouri and Kentucky, with a little protection in the form of stable manure or dry leaves. It has been received under the names C. Kirkii, C. ornatum and C. Itiiifolium. Does not bear seeds.CH
C. yemense. Flowers pure white, bell-shaped and somewhat fragrant. Bears seeds. Excellent for cross-breeding purposes.CH
C. zeylanicum (often sold as C. Kirkii). Perhaps the most common of all the crinums, being found in almost every garden, even in the backwoods. The flowers which are intensely fragrant are borne on tall purplish stems. They are deep crimson in the bud state, white with a red stripe, when fully expanded. They usually Sower in June and July after the rainy season has set in. Bears large grayish green fleshy seeds abundantly and is a fine plant to be used in hybridizing.CH
The above text is from the Standard Cyclopedia of Horticulture. It may be out of date, but still contains valuable and interesting information which can be incorporated into the remainder of the article. Click on "Collapse" in the header to hide this text.
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