DIOSCOKEACEAE. 79 



linear, 8-12 em. long, longer than the tube ; crown 3-4 cm. long, about one-third 

 as long as the stamens ; style about as long as the perianth. 



Sandy coastal ridges and dunes, Great Bahama to Andros, New Providence, 

 Eleuthera, Cat Island and Great Exuma : Hispaniola to St. Jan, St. Kitts and 

 Montserrat. SPIDER-LILY. DAY-LILY. 



2. Hymenocallis caymanensis Herb. Amaryl. 214. 1837. 



Bulb subglobose. Leaves fleshy, sessile, 3-8 dm. long, 3-8 cm. wide, 

 linear or linear-oblong, acute or obtuse at the apex, somewhat narrowed toward 

 the base, green, many-nerved; scape rather stout, about as long as the leaves; 

 flowers 0-12, sessile; bracts lanceolate to ovate-lanceolate, acuminate, 7 cm. 

 long or less; ovary oblong, 1-2 cm. long; perianth-tube 12-16 cm. long; peri- 

 anth-segments linear, 8-10 cm. long, shorter than the tube; crown about 3 cm. 

 long; style very slender, about as long as the perianth. 



In sand, Anguilla Isles and Water Cay : Florida ; Cuba ; Haiti ; Cayman 

 Islands. CAYMAN ISLANDS SPIDEE-LILY. CHRYSOLITE LILY. 



Hymenocallis caribaea (L.) Herb, of the Lesser Antilles, is recorded from 

 the Bahamas by Unban (iSyinb. Ant. 4: 151) and also doubtfully by Schoepf, 

 but has not been found by us 1 in the archipelago. It has been confused with 

 H. declindta. 



Hymenocallis crassifolia Herb., of Florida, is recorded by Baker (Amaryl. 

 126) as from the Bahamas, but has not been found by us in the archipelago. 

 Perhaps the specimen studied by him was of H. dedinata. 



Family 5. DIOSCOREACEAE Lincll. 

 YAH FAMILY. 



Herbaceous or slightly woody twining vines with fleshy or woody root- 

 stocks, slender stems, petioled, mostly cordate, several-nerved and reticulate- 

 veined leaves, and small inconspicuous dioecious or monoecious (in some 

 exotic genera perfect) regular flowers in spikes, racemes or panicles. 

 Perianth 6-parted, that of the pistillate flowers persistent. Staminate 

 flowers with 6 <or 3 stamens, sometimes with a rudimentary ovary. Pistil- 

 late flowers with an inferior 3-celled ovary, 3 styles and 3 terminal stigmas, 

 sometimes also with 3 or 6 staminodia; ovules 2 (rarely 1) in each cavity 

 of the ovary, pendulous, anatropous or amphitropous. Fruit a 3-valved, 

 3-angled capsule or samaroid. Endosperm of the seed fleshy or cartilagi- 

 nous, enclosing the small embryo. About 9 genera and 175 species, mostly 

 natives of America, a few in the Old World. 



Fruit a 3-celled, 3-winged or 3-angled capsule. 1. Dioscorea. 



Fruit a 1 -seeded samara. 2. Rajania. 



1. DIOSCOREA L. Sp. PL 1032. 1753. 



Characters of the family as defined above, the fruit a 3-angled capsule. 

 [Name in honor of the Greek naturalist Dioscorides.] About 160 species, most 

 numerous in tropical regions, a few in the temperate zones. Type species: 

 Dioscorea sativa L. 



1. Dioscorea alata L. Sp. PI. 1033. 1753. 



Glabrous, dioecious, high-climbing from a large tuber, the stem 4-winged 

 or 4-angled. Leaves opposite, the blades broadly ovate, 7-15 cm. long, palmately 



