June, and the panicles lie prostrate on the ground ; the large co- 
rollas, blue and white, and the yellow anthers have a very striking 
effect. There is another species with radical inflorescence, D. 
rhizophora; but that has longer and more attenuated leaves, 
capitate flowers, and five stamens. | 
Duscr. Stems two or three together, erect, terete, jointed, a 
span or more high, nearly as thick as the little finger, glabrous, 
the lower portion clothed with two or three cylindrical, striated 
sheaths, ciliated at the mouth, above a little leafy ; the upper 
portion concealed by the green sheathing bases of the leaves, 
which are three to five in number. eaves four to six inches 
long, elliptic-lanceolate, sharply acuminated, moderately atten- 
uated below till they form the sheath; striated, patent, and 
often recurved. From a joint at the base of the stem, or near 
the base, the peduncle or scape emerges, and is prostrate, gla- 
brous, flexuous, panicled, here and there sheathed with brown 
scales. Flowers often three together, each on a branch of the 
peduncle, large. Bracteas from a broad base subulate, her- 
baceous. Outer sepals or calyx oblong, concave, spreading, be- 
tween herbaceous and scariose. Pedals four times as large as 
the sepals, broadly obovate, spreading, blue-purple, white in the 
lower half. Stamens six, nearly equal. Filaments short. An- 
thers bright yellow. Pistil as long as the stamens. Ovary sub- 
globose, three-lobed. Style curved. Stigma obtuse. 
Fig. 1. Calyx and stamens and pistil. 2. Pistil :—2agnified. 
