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Cyrtanthus (From kyrtos curved and anthos)

(from kyrtos, curved, and anthos, a flower; the flowers bend down from the summit of the scape). SYN. Timmia. ORD. Amaryllideae. A genus of about fifteen species of greenhouse bulbs, natives of the Cape of Good Hope; some of them are not yet in cultivation. Flowers incurved, tubular, clavate, six-cleft; segments ovate-oblong; filaments inserted into the tube, conniving at end. Leaves elongate, narrow, sometimes flexuose. For culture, see Haemanthus.

C. angustifolius (narrow-leaved). fl. orange, drooping; corolla cylindrical. May and June. l. linear, obtuse. h. 1ft. 1774. (B. M. 271.) C. lutescens (yellow). fl. pale yellow, four to six, narrow, infundibuliform; filaments very short. February. l. narrow, linear, acuminate. 1836. A very interesting species. (B. M. 5374.) C. Macowani (MacOwan's). fl. six to eight in an umbel, on short pedicels; tube and limb bright scarlet, the former slightly curved, about 1in. long, narrowed gradually from the base to the throat, where it is 1/4in. thick; segments round-oblong, recurving, imbricating; scape terete, purple, a little overtopping the leaves. l. one to three, narrow-linear, 6in. long, 1/8in. broad. (R. G. 960.) C. M'Kenii (M'Ken's). fl. white, sweet-scented. 1868. This closely resembles in structure C. lutescens, but is sufficiently distinct for garden purposes. It is described as a semi-aquatic, and is extremely free-flowering. (G. C. n. s., Xiv. 766.) C. obliquus (oblique-leaved). fl. numerous, in umbels; corolla yellowish, variegated with orange-red and green, about 3in. long, drooping, tubular, somewhat fleshy and firm; scape 2ft. or more high. May and June. l. coriaceous, lorate, obliquely twisted, blunt, distichous. 1774. (B. M. 1133.) C. sanguineus (blood-coloured). fl., perianth large, infundibuliform, tubular at the base; limb broad, of six oblong, spreading, recurved, mucronate segments, bright orange-red within, yellowish externally, with six red streaks; scape terete, sub-glaucous, hollow, supporting a solitary flower. August. l. dark green, scarcely glaucous, radical, lanceolate, tapering into a rounded petiole, slightly keeled at the back and with a depressed line in front. 1860. A very handsome plant. (B. M. 5218.) C. uniflorus (one-flowered). fl. white, with a broad red stripe down the centre of each segment; limb as long as the throat. May to August. l. solitary, linear, glaucous. h. 6in. 1816. (B. R. 168.)