loweft. Rachis flexuofe, when ftripped of its flowers, like 

 that of wheat. Spike (fometimes two, the lower confluently 

 adprefled) linear, diftich with from fifty to one hundred clofely 

 imbricated fmall flowers, blueifh with a tinge of purple at the 

 tips of the inner fegments. Outer valve of fpathe ovate, with 

 a broad pellucid membranous edge, fhorter than the faux, 

 which is compreffed and (lightly recurved. Limb bell-fhaped 

 (in the upper flowers fometimes fubbilabiately arranged) feg- 

 ments equal, narrowly oval-lanceolate, alternate ones interior, 

 Stamens adfeendent parallel nearly the length of the piftil. 

 Anthers incumbent, dark blue with a fagittate bafe. Said to 

 vary with white flowers. Scentlefs. Like Watson i a fpicata, 

 fometimes produces fmall oblong bulbs, l — 3, in each fpathe 

 inftead of flowers, thefe germinate when fallen off. 



Found byTHUNBERG near the town, at Swellendam, in 

 Carro, and fometimes in the high-roads. Our figure was 

 taken from a plant received fome time fmce from the Cape, 

 with many others, by Meffrs. Grimwood and Wvkes, at 

 Kenfington. Introduced into the royal gardens at Kew in 

 1774, by Mr. Masson. This is the fmalleft of the tribe yet 

 known. We have feen Watson i a aletroides with as many 

 flowers, as clofely imbricate, and permanently diftich. 



No. 523. alter as follows : 



Watsonia Spicata. Hollow-Leaved Watsonia. 



WATSONIA^/>/Ytfta/ foliis linearibus teretibus : imo bre- 

 viore verticali molliter mucronulato, fpi ca 

 difticha fubamentiformi, limbo aequali cam- 

 panulato-patente. G. 



IXIA fpicata. Soland. Herb. Bank/. Willd. Sp. PL I. 200. 



IXIA alopecuroidea. Linn. Suppl. 92. 



GLADIOLUS fpicatus. Roy. Lugdb. 19. Sp. PL 53. Wunk 

 Diff. 13. Prod. 8. Syji. Veget. Murr. 86. Syf. 

 Nat. GmeL 111. 



GLADIOLUS fiftulofus. Jacq. Hort. Schoenb. v. 1. tab. 6. 



GLADIOLUS tubulofus, foliis cylindraceis, nervofis, gla- 

 berrimis, florum ("pica difticha. Burm. Pw& 

 fl. cap. 2. 



GLADIOLUS. Herb. Hermann, (ex quo Linnaeus pram 7,cy- 

 lanicam confecit) apud Biblioth. Bank/, vol. 4' 

 pag. 21. inter plant as Zeylanicas agglutinatus, 

 Limuei manu fubferiptus. — G ladiolus fp ica ~ 

 ins. Herb. Linn. 8. eji Gladiolus commu- 

 nis. G. 



Spathe 2-valved, ftigmas bifid, leaves 4. Hem fimple. 



