250 MELANTHACEAE 
late to lanceolate or linear, few: racemes spike-like ; staminate usually continuous, 5-20 
cm. long, its tip nodding ; pistillate stiff, interrupted, longer than the staminate : pedicels 
1-5 mm. long: perianth (staminate) white: sepals and petals narrowly linear: capsules 
oblong-ovoid or oblong, 7-10 mm. long. 
In open woods, Massachusetts to Ontario, Michigan, Florida and Arkansas. Spring and summer. 
2. Chamaelirium obovale Small. Stems 6-11 dm. tall, leafy at the base and near 
the middle, somewhat zigzag : leaves various ; basal with spatulate blades ; cauline shorter, 
4-15 em. long, with oblanceolate to lanceolate or linear, acute or acuminate blades, erect or 
ascending : flowers manifestly larger than those of C. luteum : capsules obovoid or oblong- 
obovoid, 12-14 mm. long, on stout club-shaped pedicels fully as long as the capsules or 
slightly shorter. 
In open woods, New York to West Virginia and North Carolina. Spring. 
6. SCHOENOCAULON A. Gray. 
Scapose herbs, with fibrous-coated bulbs. Leaves basal: blades slender, elongated, 
channeled, firm. Scapes upright, simple. Flowers inconspicuous, in slender spikes or 
spike-like racemes. Bracts small. Perianth green, persistent : sepals and petals 6, narrow, 
nearly equal, distinct, glandless. Stamens 6, hypogynous, surpassing the perianth : fila- 
ments elongating : anthers reniform, becoming peltate. Ovary 3-celled : styles very short. 
Ovules 4-8 in each cavity. Capsule 3-celled, septicidally separating into 3 carpels. Seeds 
often solitary in each cavity, slender, nearly terete. 
Compact portion of the spike 5 mm. thick : sepals oblong: capsules sessile. 1. S. dubium. 
Compact portion of the raceme 10 mm. thick: sepals linear: capsules pedicelled. 2. S. Drummondii. 
1l. Schoenocaulon dübium (Michx.) Small. Leaf-blades narrowly linear, 1-6 dm. 
long, involute : scapes slender, 3-9 dm. tall: spikes slender, interrupted, 10-30 cm. long : 
perianth greenish : sepals and petals oblong, 2-2.5 mm. long, leathery, obtuse, glabrous: 
filaments filiform: capsules conic, 8-10 mm. long. [S. gracile A. Gray.] 
In dry pine lands, Georgia and Florida. Spring. 
2. Schoenocaulon Drummóndii A. Gray. Leaf-blades narrowly linear, 2-7 dm. 
long, curved, involute: scapes 3-9 mm. tall: racemes spike-like, 5-15 cm. long, be- 
coming interrupted : perianth green: sepals and petals narrowly linear, 2-3 mm. long, 
obtuse, inflexed at the apex : filaments clavate: capsules conic-ovoid, 10-12 mm. long. 
On prairies, Texas and adjacent Mexico. Spring and summer. 
7. CHROSPÉRMA Raf. 
Glabrous caulescent herbs, with bulb-like rootstocks. Leaves numerous at the base 
of the stem : blades elongated, spreading, those of the stem much shorter and fewer. 
Flowers perfect. Racemes thick, cylindric. Perianth white: sepals and petals broad, 
glandless. Stamens 6: filaments subulate, acute, shorter than the sepals and petals: an- 
thers 2-celled, broader than long. Ovary 3-celled, the carpels united to below the middle. 
Ovules few in each cavity. Capsule conspicuously 3-lobed, each carpel tipped with the 
spreading subulate style-base. Seeds 1-2 in each cavity, thick, reddish brown. 
1. Chrosperma muscaetóxicum (Walt.) Kuntze. Foliage somewhat glaucous. 
Stems 3-12 dm. tall, nearly leafless : leaf-blades linear, strap-like, 3-6 dm. long, spread- 
ing ; stem-leaves few, narrow ; racemes cylindric, 5-15 cm. long, 3-6 em. thick, continu- 
ous: pedicels spreading or ascending, 1-2 cm. long, slightly thickened upward : perianth 
white, 8-10 mm. broad : sepals suborbicular : petals slightly broadened above the middle : 
capsules broader than high, the carpels 4-6 mm. long, plump. [Amianthium muscaetoxicnm 
( Walt.) A. Gray.] 
In sandy woods, Long Island to Tennessee, Florida and Arkansas. Spring and summer. FLY- 
POISON. CROW-POISON. 
8. TRACYANTHUS Small. 
Glabrous caulescent herbs, with bulb-like rootstocks. Leaves alternate, mainly basal, 
few, the outer ones mere sheathing scales: blades very narrow and elongated, those of the 
stem successively shorter and scale-like below the inflorescence. Flowers perfect, in ter- 
minal simple racemes. Perianth white: sepals and petals broadened upward, glandless. 
Stamens 6 : filaments filiform, truncate, longer than the sepals and petals : anthers 2-celled. 
