LACHENALIA. South Africa. Cape cowslip. These are winter blooming bulbs of the lily family. They have spreading, usually thick and often spotted basal leaves and erect spikes of tubular to bell shaped flowers in a variety of attractive hues. They are mostly rather tender and best kept as pot plants, protected during the winter. Summer deciduous. Sun or light shade, reasonably well drained soil, moderate watering during active growth and bloom, little or no watering during summer dormancy. The following are hardy to around 25^oF.

aloides ‘Pearsonii’. One of the most striking of the lachenalias. Its 8-12" leaves are heavily spotted with maroon. The flower stems are 6-12" tall, each carrying many nodding 1½" blossoms with an unlikely but pleasing combination of hues: red at the base, golden yellow along the tube, and green at the tip. We now have an additional, probably unnamed selection with chartreuse blossoms, marked with maroon.

bachmanii. An unusual species with nearly erect, grassy leaves and 8-12" stems crowded with small creamy white flowers. It blooms for several weeks in spring.

bulbifera (pendula). This species is of about the same dimensions as L. aloides with, in this selection, unspotted dark green leaves and coral red 1½" blossoms.

‘Late Flowering Orange’. Lacking a better name, we are using the one under which this plant was received from Wayne Roderick. It resembles L. aloides, though the leaves are broader and even more heavily spotted with maroon. The bright orange blossoms appear quite late—often in March and April.

mutabilis. An unusual species in several respects. It has conspicuously wavy-edged leaves and strikingly colored flower clusters. Both the shoot tips and the younger, unopened buds are bright lavender, turning lemon yellow as they develop.