Whiteheadia
(named after its discoverer, the Rev. Henry Whitehead, "to whom I am indebted for many curious plants" [Harvey]). ORD. Liliaceae. A monotypic genus. The species is a greenhouse, bulbous plant. It thrives in any rich soil, and may be propagated by offsets.
W. bifolia (two-leaved). fl., perianth light green, sub-sessile, solitary, four to five lines long, the segments sub-equal, slightly spreading above the base; stamens six, slightly exserted; raceme dense, 3in. to 6in. long; scape clavate, 1 1/2ft. long; bracts amplexicaul, 1in. to 1 1/4in. long. April. l. two, opposite, roundish-oblong, glabrous, fleshy-membranous, 6in. to 8in. long, 4in. to 6in. broad, sub-acute or emarginate. Bulb fuscous, 1 1/2in. to 2in. thick. South Africa, 1792. SYNS. Eucomis bifolia (B. M. 480), Melanthium massoniaefolium (A. B. R. 368).