1. RIS, Tourn. FLOWER-DE-LUCE.

Perianth 6-cleft; the tube more or less prolonged beyond the ovary; the 3 outer divisions spreading or reflexed, the 3 inner smaller, erect.

Stamens distinct; the oblong or linear anthers sheltered under the overarching petal-like stigmas (or rather branches of the style, bearing the true stigma in the form of a thin lip or plate under the apex); most of the style connate with the tube of the perianth. Capsule 3--6-angled, coriaceous. Seeds depressed-flattened, usually in 2 rows in each cell.--Perennials, with sword-shaped or gra.s.sy leaves, and large showy flowers; ours with creeping and more or less tuberous rootstocks.

(????, the _rainbow_, anciently applied to this genus on account of its bright and varied colors.)

[*] _Stems leafy and rather tall (1--3 high), from thickened rootstocks, often branching; tube of the perianth shorter than the divisions, which are beardless and crestless, the erect inner ones (petals) much smaller than the outer._

[+] _Flowers violet-blue, variegated with green, yellow or white, and purple-veined._

1. I. versicolor, L. (LARGER BLUE FLAG.) Stem stout, angled on one side; _leaves sword-shaped_ (' wide); ovary obtusely triangular with the sides flat; flowers (2--3' long) short-peduncled, the funnel-form tube shorter than the ovary; capsule oblong, turgid, with rounded angles.--Wet places, Newf. to Fla., west to Minn. and Ark. May, June.

2. I. prismatica, Pursh. (SLENDER BLUE FLAG.) Stem _very slender_, terete; _leaves narrowly linear_ (2--3" wide); flowers slender-peduncled (1--2' long), the tube extremely short; ovary 3-angled, each side 2-grooved; capsule sharply triangular. (I.

Virginica, _Man._; not _L._)--Marshes near the coast, Maine to N. C.

June.

I. CAROLINIaNA, Watson, resembling n. 1, but with longer laxer and greener leaves, and the very large seeds in one row in each cell, probably occurs in S. Va.

(Addendum) 2^a. I. hexagona, Walt. Stems flexuous, often low and slender (1--3 high), leafy; leaves much exceeding the stem, 6--12" broad; flowers solitary and sessile in the axils, large, deep blue, variegated with yellow, purple, and white; tube ' long; segments about 3' long, the inner narrow; capsule oblong-cylindric, 6-angled, 2' long--Prairies, Ky. (_Short_) to W. Mo. (_Bush_), and on the coast from S. Car.

southward.

[+][+] _Flowers copper-colored or dull reddish-brown; petals widely spreading._

3. I. fulva, Ker. Stem and leaves as n. 1; tube of the perianth cylindrical, as long as the 6-angled ovary; style-branches narrow. (I.

cuprea, _Pursh._)--Swamps, S. Ill. and Mo. to La. and Ga. May.

[*][*] _Stems low (3--6' high), from tufted and creeping slender (or here and there tuberous-thickened) rootstocks, 1--3-flowered; tube of the perianth long and slender; the violet-blue divisions nearly equal._

4. I. verna, L. (DWARF IRIS.) _Leaves linear_, gra.s.s-like, rather glaucous; the thread-like tube of the perianth about the length of the divisions, which are oblong-obovate and on _slender claws_, the outer ones slightly hairy down the orange-yellow base, _crestless_; capsule obtusely triangular.--Wooded hillsides, Lancaster Co., Penn., to S. C., west to Ky. and Ala. April.--Flowers sometimes white with yellowish centre.

5. I. cristata, Ait. (CRESTED DWARF IRIS.) _Leaves lanceolate_ (3--5'

long when grown); those of the spathe _ovate-lanceolate_, shorter than the _thread-like tube of the perianth_, which is 2' long and _much longer than the_ light blue obovate short-clawed _divisions_, the outer ones _crested_ but beardless; capsule sharply triangular.--In the mountains from Md. to N. C.; Trumbull Co., Ohio (_Ingraham_); k.n.o.bs of S. Ind. May.--Flowers fragrant.

6. I. lacustris, Nutt. (LAKE DWARF IRIS.) _Tube of the perianth rather shorter than the divisions_ (yellowish, --' long), _dilated upward_, not exceeding the spathe; otherwise as in the last, and too near it.--Gravelly sh.o.r.es of Lakes Huron and Michigan. May.

I. PSEUDaCORUS, L., the YELLOW IRIS of European marshes, with very long linear leaves and bright yellow beardless flowers, is reported as having become established in Ma.s.s. and N. Y.

2. NEMaSTYLIS, Nutt.

Perianth spreading, the segments similar and nearly equal. Filaments more or less united into a tube. Style short, its slender 2-parted branches alternate with the anthers and exserted between them; stigmas minute, terminal. Capsule oblong or ovate, truncate, dehiscent at the summit. Seeds globose or angled.--Stems terete, from coated bulbs, with few plicate leaves, and few fugacious flowers from 2-bracted spathes.

(Name from ??a, _a thread_, and st????, _style_, for the slender style-branches.)

1. N. geminiflra, Nutt. Stem 1--2 high; spathes 2-flowered; perianth pale blue-purple, 1--2' broad, the divisions oblong-obovate; capsule obovate, ' long.--E. Kan. to Tex.

3. BELAMCaNDA, Adans. BLACKBERRY-LILY.

Perianth 6-parted almost to the ovary; the divisions widely and equally spreading, all nearly alike, oblong with a narrowed base, naked. Stamens monadelphous only at base; anthers oblong. Style club-shaped, 3-cleft, the narrow divisions tipped with a small dilated stigma. Capsule pear-shaped; the valves at length falling away, leaving the central column covered with the globose black and fleshy-coated seeds, imitating a blackberry (whence the popular name).--Perennial, with rootstocks, foliage, etc., of an Iris; the branching stems (3--4 high) loosely many-flowered; the orange-yellow perianth mottled above with crimson-purple spots. (An East Indian name of the species.)

B. CHINeNSIS, Adans. (Pardanthus Chinensis, _Ker._)--Sparingly escaped from gardens, Md. to S. Ind. and Mo. (Adv. from China, etc.)

4. SISYRiNCHIUM, L. BLUE-EYED GRa.s.s.

Perianth 6-parted; the divisions alike, spreading. Stamens monadelphous to the top. Stigmas thread-like. Capsule globular, 3-angled. Seeds globular.--Low slender perennials, with fibrous roots, gra.s.sy or lanceolate leaves, mostly branching 2-edged or winged stems, and fugacious umbelled-cl.u.s.tered small flowers from a 2-leaved spathe. (A meaningless name, of Greek origin.)

1. S. angustiflium, Mill. Scape (4--12' high) winged or wingless, _simple, the spathe solitary_ and terminal, its outer bract more or less elongated; flowers delicate blue, changing to purplish (rarely white), the divisions of the perianth more or less notched, bristle-pointed and ciliate; mature _seeds_ globose, _large_ (" broad), faintly pitted or _nearly smooth_. (S. Bermudiana, var. mucronatum, _Gray_, excl.

descr.)--Moist meadows, etc., among gra.s.s; common everywhere. June--Aug.

(Addendum)--Sisyrinchium angustifolium. What appears to be a form of this species with pale yellow flowers is found near Independence, Mo.

(_Bush_).

2. S. anceps, Cav. Scape (6--18' high) usually branching and bearing 2 or more peduncled spathes; seeds more ovate, much smaller, deeply pitted. (S. Bermudiana, var. anceps, _Gray_, excl. descr.)--Similar localities; common.

ORDER 114. AMARYLLIDaCEae. (AMARYLLIS FAMILY.)

_Chiefly bulbous and scape-bearing herbs, not scurfy or woolly, with linear flat root-leaves, and regular (or nearly so) and perfect 6-androus flowers, the tube of the corolline 6-parted perianth coherent with the 3-celled ovary; the lobes imbricated in the bud._--Anthers introrse. Style single. Capsule 3-celled, several--many-seeded. Seeds anatropous or nearly so, with a straight embryo in the axis of fleshy alb.u.men.--An order represented in our gardens by the _Narcissus, Daffodil, Snowdrop_, etc., but with very few indigenous representatives in this country. Bulbs acrid. Differs from Liliaceae chiefly in the inferior ovary.

[*] Capsule 3-valved, loculicidal; anthers versatile; perianth funnel-shaped; glabrous.

1. Zephyranthes. Flower naked in the throat; the tube short or none.

Bulbs coated.

2. Hymenocallis. Flower with a slender tube and narrow recurved lobes; a cup-shaped crown connecting the stamens. Bulbs coated.

3. Agave. Flower equally 6-cleft, persistent, no crown. Fleshy-leaved, not bulbous.

[*][*] Capsule indehiscent; anthers sagittate; villous.

4. Hypoxis. Perianth 6-parted nearly down to the ovary, persistent. Bulb solid.

1. ZEPHYRaNTHES, Herb.

Perianth funnel-form, from a tubular base; the 6 divisions petal-like and similar, spreading above; the 6 stamens inserted in its naked throat; anthers versatile. Pod membranaceous, 3-lobed.--Leaves and low scape from a coated bulb. Flowers solitary from a scarious simple bract.

(From ??f????, _a wind_ and ?????, _flower_.)

1. Z. Atamasco, Herb. (ATAMASCO LILY.) Leaves bright green and shining, very narrow, channelled, the margins acute; scape 6--12' high; peduncle short; spathe 2-cleft at the apex; perianth white and pink, 3' long; stamens and style declined.--Penn. to Va. and Fla. June. (Addendum) (Amaryllis Atamasco, _L._).

2. HYMENOCaLLIS, Salisb.

Perianth with a long and slender tube, and an equal 6-parted limb; lobes long and narrow, recurved; the throat bearing a tubular or cup-shaped corolla-like delicate crown, which connects the bases of the 6 exserted stamens. Anthers linear, versatile. Capsule thin, 2--3-lobed; seeds usually 2 in each cell, basal, fleshy, often like bulblets.--Scapes and leaves from a coated bulb. Flowers white, fragrant, large and showy, sessile in an umbel-like head or cl.u.s.ter, subtended by 2 or more scarious bracts. (Name composed of ???, _a membrane_, and ??????, _beauty_.)

1. H. occidentalis, Kunth. Leaves strap-shaped, glaucous, 1--1 long, 9--18" broad; scape 3--6-flowered; bracts narrow, 2' long; perianth-tube about 2--4' long, the linear segments scarcely shorter; the crown 12--15" long, tubular below, broadly funnel-form above, the margin deltoid and entire, or 2-toothed and erose, between the white filaments, which are twice longer; anthers yellow; style green.--Marshy banks of streams, S. Ill. to N. Ga. and Ala.--Apparently distinct from H. lacera, _Salisb._ (Pancratium rotatum, _Ker._), of the southern coast.

3. AGaVE, L. AMERICAN ALOE.