TRICYRTIS. Toad lily. Japan to the Himalayas. Unusual, easily grown perennials of the lily family, clumping freely by means of thick, branched rhizomes. They have slender stems lined by pointed-oval, deeply veined, sometimes hairy leaves. They display their blossoms mostly in late summer and fall. These vary in form from starlike to bell shaped and come in a variety of colors, usually with speckling or spotting of a darker shade. Fine subjects for shady nooks, and for containers. Winter deciduous. Sun or (preferably) part shade near the coast, part shade inland, most non-alkaline soils, moderate watering. The following are hardy to 10^oF or less.

formosana ‘Amethystina’. A robust plant, quickly forming many-stemmed thickets. The individual stems grow 2-3’ high. The leaves are up to 8” long, bright green with darker spots and quite glossy above, somewhat hairy beneath. The flowers are about 1" broad, opening widely. They have pale yellow centers, shading to cream-white, then to amethyst near the tip of each segment. This is one of the showiest of the toad lilies. 10^oF. or less.

hirta. The best-known species, with crowded stems up to 3' tall. Both these and the broad, clasping 4" leaves are covered with soft hair. It carries its 1" blossoms both along the stems and clustered at the shoot tips. The flowers are creamy white in background and heavily spotted with purple. The selection ‘Variegata’ is distinguished by narrow cream outlining on the leaf margins. We have dubbed a group of larger flowered hybrids by friend Patrick Worley—naturally enough— ‘Worley Hybrids’.