white-flowering kinds are mere varieties of each other; while 
Dr. Lindley’s Xzphidium, being identical with our plant, derived 
from the same source, Santa Martha (Mr. Purdie), is simply a 
larger specimen than usual, with leaves obsoletely serrated. Be- 
sides the localities for this species given by Aublet and Swartz, 
namely French Guiana, Vera Cruz, islands of Tobago and St. 
Christopher, I may add, from-my herbarium, Plain of Dapur, 
Santa Martha, Surinam, British Guiana, Antioquia, New Gra- 
nada (Holton), Mecapulco, Mexico, and Dominica, St. Vincent, 
and Jamaica of the West Indian Islands. 
Descr. Rhizome long, descending, jointed, thick as a swan’s 
quill, radicant and sending out offsets. Stems apparently annual, 
herbaceous, from a few inches to a foot or more long, erect, com- 
pressed, unbranched, but not unfrequently proliferous from buds 
in the axils of the leaves, glabrous, leafy. Leaves alternate 
equitant, sword-shaped, the flattened base forming a short sheath 
upon the stem (as in Jris), from eight or ten inches to a foot 
and a half long, one to two inches and more broad, distichous, 
| membranaceous, closely striated, more or less distinctly but finely 
spinuloso-serrate, especially towards the acuminated apex. Pe- 
duncle terminal, bracteated, bearing an oblong thyrsus or com- 
pound raceme of flowers, from four to six or eight inches long ; 
racemelets spreading, subscorpioid ; the flowers six to eight, all 
on the upper side, gradually opening from below, hairy or gla- 
brous.. Pedicles bracteolated, short. Pertanth of six, white, 
spreading, oblong-oval sepals, regular. Stamens as long as the 
pistil, three, erect, from the base of the inner sepals. laments 
short, glabrous. Anther oblong, orange-colour. Ovary quite su- 
perior, globose, obscurely three-lobed. Style twice as long as the 
ovary. Stigma obtuse. Both in our cultivated specimens and 
in all our numerous native ones in the herbarium, the ovary falls 
_ off without coming to maturity, the plant apparently increasing 
_ mainly by lateral buds from the stem. 
Fig. 1. Flower. 2. Pistil :—magnified. 
