IXIACEAE : 305 
3-5 em. long: perianth blue, 4-5 em. broad, fugacious: sepals obovate, with white and 
violet-spotted claws: petals oblanceolate, acute: filament-tube 4 mm. long, blue: capsules 
oblong-cavate, 2-2.5 cm. long. 
On prairies, Texas. Spring. 
2. Herbertia Watsdnii Baker. Stems 1-2 dm. tall: leaves mainly basal, usually 
1-2; blades sheathing at the base: spathe about 3 cm. long: perianth purple, about 5 cm. 
broad: sepals oblanceolate, about 2.5 cm. long: petals obovate, 6 mm. long: filaments 
united nearly to the top, 6 mm. long. 
On damp prairies, Texas. Spring. 
6. IRIS L. 
Herbs, with creeping or horizontal, sometimes tuber-bearing rootstocks. Leaves equi- 
tant: blades sword-shaped. Flowers solitary or in terminal panicles. Perianth more or 
less highly colored, usually showy : tube narrow below : lobes various, the 3 outer dilated, 
spreading or recurved, the 3 inner smaller, often erect, sometimes nearly as large as the 
outer. Stamens 3: filaments adnate to the bases of the outer perianth-lobes : anthers nar- 
row. Ovary 3-celled : styles petal-like, arching over the stamens, adnate to the ovary at 
the base: stigmas under the usually two-lobed style-tips. Ovules numerous. Capsule 
somewhat elongated, 3-6-angled or 3-6-lobed. ^ Seeds in 1 or 2 rows in each cavity, verti- 
cally flattened. FLAG. BLUE FLAG. FLEUR-DE-LIS. 
Stems usually less than 1 dm. tall, covered by the leaves: outer and inner perianth-lobes nearly equal. 
Leaves linear : outer periant onos crestless : angles of capsule obtuse. T T verna. 
Leaves more or less broadened near the middle: outer perianth-lobes crested : 
angles of capsule acute. 2. I. cristata. 
Stems usually over 3 dm. tall, leafy : outer perianth-lobes larger than the inner. 
Perianth reddish brown or red. 3. I. fulva. 
Perianth blue or lilac variegated with white, green or yellow or rarely white. j 
Leaves less than 1 cm. broad. 
Flower usually solitary : blades of outer perianth-lobes suborbicular or 
ovate, blue variegated with yellow and purple. 
Flowers usually several: blades of outer perianth-lobes cuneate or obo- 
vate, blue variegated with white. 
Leaves more than 1 cm. broad. 
4. I. tripetala. 
5 
Seeds in 1 row in each cavity. 6. I. Caroliniana. 
7 
8 
. I. prismatica. 
Seeds in 2 rows in each cavity. 
Flowers and capsules pedicelled. 
Flowers and capsules sessile or nearly so. 
. I. versicolor. 
. I. hexagona. 
1. Iris vérna L. Rootstocks creeping. Foliage bright green: leaves overtopping 
the flowers ; blades linear, in age elongating to 3-4 dm. and becoming grass-like, attenuate : 
perianth violet-blue or rarely white, violet-scented ; tube barely as long as the bracts ; lobes 
spatulate or cuneate-obovate, crestless, about as long as the slender tube : capsules prismatic, 
12-15 mm. long, 3-angled, the angles obtuse. 
_ In open woods and on dry slopes, Pennsylvania to southern Georgia, Kentucky and Alabama. 
Spring. VIOLET IRIS. 
2. Iris cristàta Ait. Rootstocks creeping, slender. Foliage bright green: leaves 
(longer ones) overtopping the flowers ; blades linear or usually broadest about the middle, 
more or less curved, acuminate : scapes somewhat flattened, bearing 1 or 3 flowers: peri- 
anth bright or pale blue ; tube surpassing the bracts ; lobes spreading, obovate or spatulate, 
the outer ones crested, longer than the inner, much shorter than the nearly filiform tube : 
capsules oblong-oval, 15-18 mm. long, 3-angled, the angles acute. 
On banks or hillsides in open woods, Maryland to Ohio, Missouri, Georgia and Tennessee. Spring. 
CRESTED IRIS. 
3. Iris falva Ker. Rootstocks stout. Foliage pale-green or glaucescent : stems erect, 
3-9 dm. tall, simple or branched, l-angled below: leaves rarely overtopping the stem ; 
blades narrowly-linear, sword-shaped: flowers solitary or 2 together: perianth reddish 
brown or red variegated with blue or green; tube surpassed by the bracts ; lobes crest- 
less, 3-5 em. long; blades oblong to ovate-oblong, glabrous: appendages of the stigmas 
toothed : capsules oblong, 2.5-3 cm. long, obtusely 6-angled. [J. cuprea Pursh.] 
In swamps, Kentucky to Illinois, Missouri, Georgia and Texas. Spring. 
. 4. Iristripétala Walt. Rootstocks horizontal. Foliage glaucous: stems 3-7 dm. tall, 
simple or nearly so, rather slender : leaves shorter than the stem ; blades narrowly linear, 
less than 1 em. broad : flower usually solitary : perianth blue, variegated with yellow and 
purple ; tube about as long as the bracts ; lobes various, crestless, the inner cuneate, short, 
the outer showy ; blades ovate or suborbicular, 3-4 cm. long, narrowed into claws of nearly 
20 
