Schizobasis
(from schizo, to cut, and basis, the base; the withered perianth separates at its base from the receptacle, and is pushed off by the swelling fruit in the form of a calyptra). ORD. Liliaceae. A genus consisting of five species of stove or greenhouse, bulbous plants, natives of tropical and South Africa. Flowers small, racemose or scattered at the sides of the branches; perianth marcescent, persistent, with equal, spreading segments; stamens six; bracts minute or obsolete. Leaves radical, early, few, linear, rather thick, absent in flowering specimens. Stem leafless, slender, branched. S. intricata, the only species introduced, requires greenhouse heat, and full sunshine. It thrives in light loam, and may be increased by seeds, or by offsets. S. intricata (intricate). fl., perianth white, with a green dorsal rib; racemes ultimately very loose, 1 1/2in. to 2in. long; panicle obversely deltoid, 2in. to 6in. long and broad, the branches ascending; scape firm, slender, 2in. to 6in. long. l. four to ten, subulate, erect, fleshy, glabrous, 2in. to 3in. long. South Africa, 1875.