beautifulflowers032840mbp

BEAUTIFUL FLOWEBS OF KASHMIR [Plate 69
II.
LILIACEAE.
The Lily Family.
GAGE A, Salisb. Star-of-Bethlehem.
(After Sir Thomas Gage, British botanist, died 1820.)
I. Inflorescence umbellate.
1. Leaf i-i in. broad ... ... ... G. lutea.
2. Leaf grass -like ... G. reticulata.
Inflorescence cymose.
1. 1 radical leaf ... ... ... G. persica.
2. 2 radical leaves ... ... ... G. kashmirensis.
Pig. 2. Oagea lutea,
Schult, f. Yellow Star-of-Bethlehem.
A small, hairless, bulbous herb. Bulb about as large as a
hazel-nut. Radical leaf solitary, linear-lance-shaped, 4-6 by
i-i in. Stem 2-5 in., hairless or hairy. Inflorescence
umbellate. Bracts 2, unequal, leaf -like, usually nearly opposite.
Flowers 3-6, yellow, star-like. Perianth i in. long ;
segments 6, linear-oblong, blunt or sharp-pointed. Stamens 6,
at the base of and shorter than the segments anthers oblong.
;
Ovary small, 3-sided, 3-celled ;
ovules many in each cell ; style
straight, thick, tapering downwards. Capsule not half as long
as the perianth, broader than long, 3-grooved. Seeds many,
flat.
Flowers. May, June.
Locality. Gulmarg, open grassy marg and short turf, above
Khelanmarg, 10,000 ft.
Distribution. W. Himalaya, from Kashmir to Kumaon,
8,000 ft., common
;
6,000-13,000 ft., N. Asia, N. Africa, Europe.
Qagea reticulata, Schult. f.
A small bulbous herb. Stem 2-3 in. high, stout or slender.
Leaves 4-8 in. long, filiform, grass-like, stem-leaves usually
very many, bent back, long, rarely few and short. Flowers
many, umbellate, very variable in size, green with a white
border. Perianth |-f in. long ; segments linear, finely pointed.
Anthers linear-oblong. Capsule as long as the perianth. Seeds
flat, angular.
Locality. At elevations below 6,000 ft.
Distribution. From Kashmir to Almora, Punjab Plains,
Turkestan, westwards to N. Africa and Greece.