Saturday 18 April 2009

DORYANTHES - Nicolson 1888

GEORGE NICHOLSON
of the Royal Botanic Gardens Kew

The Illustrated Dictionary of Gardening
A Practical and Scientific
Encyclopaedia of Horticulture
for
Gardeners and Botanists

Div. II Car. - Erl.

London 1888


DORYANTHES (from dory, a spear, and anthos, a flower ; the flower stem is from 12 ft. to 20 ft. high, like the handle of a spear, bearing flowers on the top). ORD. Amaryllidaceae. A genus of extremely beautiful amaryllids, requiring greenhouse culture, similar to Dasylirion, Fourcroua, &c. They thrive best in a compost of loam and leaf soil, in equal parts. Propagated from suckers, which should be placed in small pots, and grown on, repotting into larger sizes as becomes necessary. A comsiderable size of plant has to be obtained before flowers are produced.

D. excelsa (tall). very brilliant scarlet, each as large as the common white Lily, disposed in a globose head at the top of the bracteate stem, the base of which is surrounded by leaves. Summer. l. numerous, long lanceolate. h.8ft. to 16ft. New South Wales, 1800. See Fig. 678 (B.M. 1685)

D. Pameri (Palmer's). fl. red, with the centre lighter, large, funnel-shaped ; spike pyramidal, 1 ft to 1 1/2ft. high, and 10in. to 12in. broad, many flowered, clothed with leafy bracts. l. in a dense tuft, broad-lanceolate, each about 6ft. long by 6 in. in breadth, gracefully arching. h. 8ft. to 16ft. Queensland, 1874.
This is a very handsome species. (B.M. 6665.) [inaccuracies in description derived from Bot. Mag.]

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