beautifulflowers032840mbp

168 BEAUTIFUL FLOWEBS OF KASHMIR [Plate 58
i-1 in. broad, inversely lance-shaped. Style-arms 1 in. long,
bent down, crests small. Capsule 1-2 in. long, 6-ribbed,
long-beaked.
Locality. At elevations of 6,000 ft.
Distribution. From Kashmir to Eussia.
Iris aurea, Lindl. Golden Iris.
A perennial herb. Eootstock stout, prostrate. Stems
3-3i ft. high, stout, round, with leafy sheaths. Leaves 1 J-2 ft.
by 1-1 in., sword-shaped. Spathes 3-4 in. long, 2-3-flowered.
Flowers yellow, long-stalked. Sepals 2J-3J in. long, blade
1 in. broad, oblong, as long as the claw. Petals shorter,
inversely lance-shaped. Style-arms li-U in. long, crested.
Ovary as long as the perianth- tube. Capsule li in. long,
oblong, 6-angled, beaked.
Locality. Not known to me.
Distribution. Endemic in Kashmir.
LILIACEAE. The Lily Family.
COLCHICUM, Linn.
(The Greek colchicon of Dioscorides, a poisonous plant growing
in Colchis on the Black Sea.)
Fig. 3. Colchicum luteum, Baker. Yellow Saffron.
Conn gibbously egg-shaped, coats dark brown. Leaves
few, appearing with the flowers, linear-oblong, or inversely
lance-shaped, blunt, short at the flowering time, at fruiting
6-12 by i-i in. Flowering stalk very short, amongst the leafsheaths,
1-2-flowered. Flowers 1-li in. diameter when
expanded, golden yellow. Perianth-tube 3-4 in. long,
segments 6, oblong or inversely lance-shaped, blunt, manynerved.
Stamens 6, shorter than the perianth, inserted in
the bases of the segments filaments very much shorter than
;
the long, yellow anthers. Ovary stalkless, 3-celled; styles 3,
filiform, much longer than the perianth. Capsule 1-lJ in.
long. Seeds almost globose.
Flowers. May.
Locality. Dachigam Rakh, in shady places ; Gulmarg, open
grassy marg, about 8,500 ft., rare.
Distribution. W. temperate Himalaya, from Kashmir to
Chamba, 4,000-9,000 ft., Afghanistan, Turkestan.