striated, quite glabrous, much sheathed at the base: the inner 
or upper ones the narrowest, and these, after the flowering of 
the plant is past, gradually elongated, till they become, from 
the base, two feet long; of one such a portion is here repre- 
sented at fig. 1. Racemes spicate, many-flowered, pedunculated, 
appearing before all the leaves are perfected. Peduncles axillary, 
solitary or two together, shorter than the leaf, in whose axil they 
are produced. Bracteas lincar-lanceolate, ciliated and hairy at 
the back, the base embracing the very short pedicels. Flowers 
large, bright yellow, externally green. Zudbe of the pertanth com- 
bined with the germen, six-furrowed ; Zimé of six, spreading, oval, 
obtuse segments. Stamens nearly as long as the lobes of the 
perianth, erecto-patent. Anthers orange-coloured. Ovary tur- 
binate, the upper portion only free. Style short: stigma large, 
of five, linear lobes. The flowers died off without producing 
any fruit. 
Fig. 1. Outline of a portion of a fully-grown leaf, after the flowering of the 
plant :—natural size. 2. Bractea, and flower from which the segments of the 
perianth and the stamens have been removed :—magnified. 
