ae HEXANDRIA. MONOGYNIA. 22h 
oe ORNITHOGALUM. L. (Star of Bethle- 
bs em.) ; 
' Corolla of 6 petals, erect, persistent, above 
the middle, spreading. Filaments dilated at 
the base or subulate. Capsule superior, round- 
ish, 3-celled. Seeds roundish, naked. 
Roots bulbous; scapes few-flowered, subumbellate, co- 
rymbose, or racemose. 
k Species. 1. 0. umbellatum. Introduced; becoming a- 
i troublesome and inextinguishable weed in moist meadows, 
forming exclusive plats. In the vicinity of Philadelphia. 
This extensive and polymorphous genus of near 50 spe- 
cies is chiefly indigenous to the south Europe, to Barbary, 
Siberia, and the Cape of Good Hope. ‘The bulbs of some 
of the species, though not probably very palatable, have 
been used for food in times of scarcity, and during the 
: existence of barbarous society. The roots of Ornithoga- 
lum pilosum? are still eaten by the Greeks of the Crimea, 
according to Pallas. | ; 
/* $94, LILIUM. Z. (Lily.) a. 
| Corol’a 6-petalled, campanulate; petals most-_ 
, ly reflected, marked with a longitudinal necta- 
riferous line. Stamina shorter than the style. 
Stigma undivided. Capsule superior, valves 
connected by cancellate hairs. Seeds flat. 
Roots bulbous, bulbs squamose; scales soboliferous; 
_stems simple, leafy, leaves alternate or verticillate; flow- 
‘ers subumbellate or pjramidally racemose, mostly cer- 
muous.. ee : 
Species. 1. L. Catesbei. .2. pudicum. Px. A ya 
Fritilluria, 3, pensylvanicum. Probably a hybrid of the — 
gardens. as } have understood it to bear imperfect flow-  _ 
ers. 4. * inthnum. i we in Fras. Catal. 1813. Leaves no 
corolla campanulate, petals lanceolate, unguiculate, alters 
