Crocosmia
(from crocus, saffron, and osme, smell; in allusion to the very pronounced odour of saffron exhaled by the dried flowers of this plant when immersed in warm water). ORD. Irideae. A monotypic genus, generally known as Tritonia. The species is a very handsome hardy, or nearly hardy, bulbous perennial, and thrives best in a light, rich, sandy soil. It is often grown in pots for the greenhouse; but, with a little care, it will be found to thrive remarkably well in the open. In cold, northerly situations, the better plan will be to lift the roots in November, and store in frost-proof quarters until the following spring; but they must not be kept so dry as to cause them to shrivel. Propagated by offsets, or by seeds; the latter should be sown in pans, in a cold house, as soon as possible after maturity; but where the Crocosmia does well, the corms increase pretty freely.
C. aurea (golden).* fl. brilliant orange-red, few; perianth with a longish curved slender tube, and a nearly regular six-parted limb of oblong segments spreading in a star-like form; spike terminal, branched. Summer and autumn. l. narrowly sword-shaped, 1ft. long, 1/3in. broad, sheathing at the base of the stem for about 1ft. Stem slightly winged. h. 2ft. South Africa, 1846. SYN. Tritonia aurea. (B. M. 4335.)