374 Bicknell : Species of the Genus Hydastylus 



or orange veins, obtuse or acute but not aristulate nor emarginate ; 

 filaments more or less adherent below but commonly free nearly 

 to the base or at least for more than half their length, somewhat 

 spreading above ; anthers narrowly linear, versatile ; style-branches 

 slender, divergent : capsule oblong to globose or pyriform, more 

 or less trigonous, three-celled, many- or few-seeded : seeds rounded, 

 distinctly pitted, widely umbilicate or acetabuliform. 



Western North American from Vancouver to Lower California 



and at least to southern Mexico, extending east to Arizona and 



Coahuila. 



The most evident points of difference between this genus and 

 Sisyrinchium reside in the flowers and consist of partially free fila- 

 ments, linear versatile anthers and slender spreading style-branches, 

 together with yellow perianth, the lineate segments never aristu- 

 late nor emarginate and strictly glabrous ovary. In addition there 

 is some indefinable foliar attribute which with more or less clear- 



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ness announces the genus quite apart from the flowers. In fact 

 two of the species here described are confidently referred to the 

 genus although the flowers are unknown. 



It will doubtless be found to be in accordance with the align- 

 ment of nature to limit the genus Sisyrinchium by the characters 

 of tubular-united filaments, short erect anthers, undivided style 

 and, with rare exceptions, blue, violet or white flowers, with the 

 perianth segments aristulate or acutely pointed ; furthermore the 

 ovary is puberulent in the majority of species. 



This understanding of the genus will exclude from it a number 

 of South American species which it has hitherto been held to em- 

 brace and make necessary the formation of still other genera, but 

 this, I fully believe, will prove to be the only logical treatment of 

 the group. There might have seemed little reason for this view 

 under the long-established belief that the genus in North America 

 was at best a most insignificant one but now that its numerical 

 importance has disclosed itself the beautiful homogeneity of the 

 species of the blue-flowered section becomes in itself very sug- 

 gestive and bears strongly against the congeneric equivalent with 

 their group of the heterogeneous assemblage, of species that have 

 been included within it. 



On this view Sisyrincliium proper is primarily a North Ameri- 

 can genus which though well -represented in South America has 

 there a much less extensive representation than has been accorded it. 



