ghtly keeled, and somewhat concave, at the base white, fleshy,
and covered with a glutinous substance flowing in great quantities
from the nectary.

NECTARY of a fine azure blue and most singular form, composed of two
petals, the upper petal very short and broad, with a whitish mucro
or point, the sides of which lap over the base of the other petal;
inferior petal about two inches and a half in length, the lower
half somewhat triangular, grooved on the two lowermost sides, and
keeled at bottom, the keel running straight to its extremity, the
upper half gradually dilating towards the base, runs out into two
lobes more or less obtuse, which give it an arrow-shaped form,
bifid at the apex, hollow, and containing the antherae, the edges
of the duplicature crisped and forming a kind of frill from the
top to the bottom.

STAMINA five Filaments arising from the base of the nectary, short and
distinct; Antherae long and linear, attached to and cohering by
their tips to the apex of the nectary.

STYLE filiform, white, length of the nectary.

STIGMA three quarters of an inch long, attached to, and hitched on as it
were to the tip of the nectary, roundish, white, awl-shaped, very
viscid, becoming as the flower decays of a deep purple brown
colour, and usually splitting into three pieces, continuing
attached to the nectary till the nectary decays.

Mr. FAIRBAIRN, to whose abilities and industry the Companies
Garden at Chelsea is indebted for its present flourishing state, being
desirous of obtaining ripe seeds, I had no opportunity of examining the
germen.

Such were the appearances which presented themselves to us in the plant
which flowered at the Chelsea Garden; that they are liable to
considerable variation is apparent from the figure of Mr.
MILLAR, which appears to have been drawn from a very luxuriant
specimen, as two spathae grow from one flowering stem, the stigma is also
remarkably convoluted, many other appearances are likewise represented,
which our plant did not exhibit: in the figure given in the _Hortus
Kewensis_, the stigma appears to have separated from the nectary on the
first opening of the flower, and to be split into three parts, neither
of which circumstances took place in our plant till they were both in a
decaying state.

[121]

NARCISSUS INCOMPARABILIS. PEERLESS DAFFODIL.

_Class and