XYRIDEjE. 525 



11. C. persicarifolia, DC. Ascending, glabrous; leaves oblong-lanceolate, acumi- 

 nate, oblique above the minutely contracted base : sheath closed, rusty-ciliate ; bract condu- 

 plicate, orbicular with a minute point, ciliate at the base : both special peduncles flowered ; 

 " corolla blue, subeqnal."— Red. Lit. 8. t. 472.— V-\\' high ; leaves 3"-5" long ; bract 1" 

 diain. ; one of the special peduncles exserted. — Hab. Trinidad !, Cr. ; [Cuba !]. 



12. C. elegans, Kth. Diffuse, puberulous ; leaves elliptical-lanceolate or lanceolate, 

 pointed, contracted at the base : sheath ciliate ; bract turbiitate-cucallate, wilh a deltoid 

 point : one of the special peduncles abortive ; corolla blue or white, unequal ; seeds smooth. 

 —Mart. Fl. Bras. 15. t. 37./. 2: analyt.— Leaves l£"-3" long; bract 8"'-10"' diam. ; 

 larger petals 4'" long — Hab. Jamaica !, March, Wullschl.; Autigua !, Wulhchl.; Trinidad!, 

 Cr.; [Cuba! to Brazil]. 



6. RAPATEA, Aubl. 



Calyx surrounded by imbricated, scaly bracts. Corolla 3-lobed. Stamens 6, inserted 

 into the corolla: anthers with a terminal appendage. Ovary 3-celled : cells 1-ovulate. 

 Capsule membranaceous, 3-valved. — Stemless bog-plants ; leaves rosular, distichous, ensate ; 

 flower-heads or umbels supported by a 2-partite, compressed involucre ; corolla yellow. 



13. B. paludosa, Aubl. Scape compressed, 2-winged towards the thickened summit ; 

 leaves linear-lanceolate, narrowly acuminate, long-tapering at the base; segments of the in- 

 volucre subulate, exceeding the umbel : bracts oblong, acuminate ; anthers linear ; appen- 

 dage purple. — Aubl. t. 118. — Leaves 2-5' long, exceeding the scape. — Hab. Trinidad!, Cr., 

 in swampy woods ; [Guiana ! to Brazil]. 



CXXXIII. XYRIDE.E. 



Flowers complete. Stamens 3, epipetalous or hypogynous. Ovary free ; ovules oo , atro- 

 pous. Capsule 3-valved. Albumen amylaceous : embryo free at its summit. — Rush-like 

 herbs ; flowers usually in heads. 



1. XYRIS, L. 



Sepals 3, glumaceous : 2 keeled, the third clasping, deciduous. Petals 3, cohering by 

 their slender claws. Stamens epipetalous, alternating with plumose (-2-fid) sterile filaments: 

 anthers extrorse. Style 3-fid. Capsule 1 -celled. — Leaves most rosular, ensate ; flowers in 

 heads : single flowers in the axils of coriaceous bracts. 



Sect. 1. Euxyeis, Endl. — Capsule medianicide .- seeds very numerous, along the middle 



line of the valves. 



1. X. communis, Kth. Glabrous ; stem 1 -angled, subcompressed at the thickened 

 summit; leaves grass-like, linear -acuminate, with a bluntish point, exceeded by the stem; 

 head ovoid, many-flowered : bracts obovate roundish, shining, entire: dorsal area ovate; 

 keel of the lateral sepals villous-ciliate above. — Marl. Fl. Bras. 15. t. 29. — X. Sellowiana, 

 Kth. X. laxifolia, Mart. — 1'-3' high; leaves somewhat flaccid, 4"'-2'" broad; corolla yel- 

 low. — Hab. Trinidad !, Pd., Lockh., Cr., in all moist savannahs ; [Venezuela ! to Monte- 

 video !]. 



Sect. 2. Nematopus, Seub. — Seeds free from the capsule-valves : funiculi erect, central. 



2. X. glabrata, Or. Nearly glabrous ; stem filiform, angnlar, much longer than the 

 leaves ; leaves narrowly linear, acuminate : sheath often with marginal wool at its base ; 

 head globose-ovoid, 4-8-flowered .- bracts oval, bluntish or emarginate-mucronate, slightly 

 lacerate along the margin : the lanceolate dorsal area of the interior ones confined to the 

 upper part; keel of the lateral sepals hispidulons-lacerate above. — X. americana, V. (ex 

 descr., non Aubl) X. savanensis, J9. glabrata, Seub. — Distinguished from the similar X. 

 savanensis, Miq., by the smooth leaves, and the interior bracts narrower, less rounded, and 

 not entire. 12"-8" high, 1 -leaved above the base; rosular leaves 3"-4" long, %'"-\'" 

 broad; head 2'" long: corolla-lobes obliquely spathulate. — Hab. Trinidad!, Cr., Savannah de 

 Aripa; [Guiana, Brazil]. 



2m2 



