Bulbs Gallery

Gladiolus papilio, 1866

Artwork from Curtis's Botanical Magazine, volume 92, plate 5565. This is a Cape species and was received at Kew, in 1861, from D. Arnot of Colesberg. It has also been found by W. Wilson Saunder's collector, Cooper, from whom roots were communicated by Mr Saunders. Curtis's Botanical Magazine is the longest running botanical periodical featuring colour illustrations of plants and has been published continuously since 1787

© The Board of Trustees of the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew

Brodiaea coccinea, 1870

Current accepted plant name is Dichelostemma ida-maia, commonly known as firecracker flower. Hand-coloured lithograph on paper by Walter Hood Fitch, 1870. Artwork from Curtis's Botanical Magazine, volume 96, plate 5857. Current accepted plant name is Dichelostemma ida-maia, commonly known as firecracker flower. Curtis's Botanical Magazine is the longest running botanical periodical featuring colour illustrations of plants and has been published continuously since 1787

© The Board of Trustees of the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew

Amaryllis blanda (The Blush-lily)

Original illustration from Curtis's Botanical Magazine, published as plate 1450, 1st March 1812. Watercolour and pencil on paper. This species is a native of the Cape of Good Hope, where it was gathered by Sir Joseph Banks. It was also sent to Miller in 1754 by Van Royen, from Holland, and flowered in the Chelsea garden. This drawing was created from a specimen that bloomed on June 1811, in Mr Griffin's collection of Cape bulbs in South Lambeth

© The Board of Trustees of the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew