Schizostylis
(from schizo, to cut, and stylos, a style; the style is divided into three long, filiform branches). ORD. Irideae. A genus consisting of a couple of species of greenhouse or half-hardy, South African plants. Flowers sessile in a spathe; perianth red, showy, the tube slender, very shortly enlarged at the throat, the lobes equal, oblong or ovate, spreading; stamens affixed to the throat; spathes scattered at the sides of a simple peduncle. Leaves linear or narrow-ensiform. Stems fascicled on a rhizome, ebulbous or slightly bulbous-thickened at base. S.coccinea, the only species introduced, is a very handsome inhabitant or our gardens. It grows freely in a warm, sunny border, such as may often be found in front of a glass structure. The shoots are produced in abundance, and the flowers, which appear in autumn, retain their beauty for a considerable period. The plant is also well adapted for pot-culture, as the flowers come to perfection, under such treatment, in a greenhouse, and are very useful for cutting. Propagation may be readily effected, in spring, by dividing the plants, and inserting pieces, consisting of from four to six shoots, in prepared soil, about 9in. apart. Sandy loam and peat, or leaf soil, forms a good compost.
S. coccinea (scarlet).* Crimson Flag; Kaffir Lily. fl. ten to fourteen in a distichous spike; perianth tube shorter than the bracts; limb 2in. across, of six spreading, uniform, ovate-oblong, very acute lobes; anthers yellow. October and November. l. long, sheathing, sword-shaped, carinate, the longest arising from the base; upwards they gradually form bracts. h. 3ft. 1864. Half hardy. (B.M. 5422; F.D.S. 1637; F.M.183; I.H. 394.)