LILIACEAE 267 



orange-red, 4-8 cm. long, very sliowy : sepals and petals lanceolate or oblong-lanceolate, 8- 

 10 cm. long, spotted with purjile, strongly recurved from below the middle, the tips often 

 converging on the base of the perianth, the midrib winged beneath : capsules obovoid. 

 In open woods, Virginia to Florida and Louisiana. Summer. 



3. ERYTHRONIUM L. 



Low herbs, with deeply buried membranous-coated corms, sometimes producing off- 

 shoots. Stems chiefly underground, simple. Leaves 2 at the top of the stems and appearing 

 basal : blades thickish, flat, spreading, sheathing at the base. Flowers perfect. Perianth 

 often showy, nodding, solitary, or rarely several flowers together : sepals and petals narrow, 

 each with a nectar-bearing groove at the base. Stamens 6, hypogynous : filaments shorter 

 than the perianth : anthers narrow, erect. Ovary 3-celled : style filiform or thickened 

 upward, 3-lobed or 3-cleft at the apex. Ovules several or numerous in each cavity. 

 Capsule slightly elongated, 3-celled, loculicidal. Seeds flattened. Dog's-tooth Violet. 



New corms produced at the base of the old ones : sepals and petals erect or only slightly spreading- 



1. E. mesachoreuni- 

 New corms produced at the ends of offslioots : sepals and petals recurved. 



Perianth white, pink or purplish within : styles united to above the middle, 



topped by 3 spreading stigmas. 2. E. albidum. 



Perianth yellow within : styles wholly united : stigma terminal. 3. E. Americanum. 



1. Erythronium mesachoreum Knerr. Corms ovoid, 2-3 cm. long, with large mem- 

 branous coats, not producing offshoots but the new bulb forming at the base of the old one 

 or within its coats. Leaves 2 ; blades oblong to linear-oblong, 8-18 cm. long, deep green, 

 not mottled, commonly involutely folded, narrowed into petiole-like bases : scapes 1-3 

 dm. tall, simple: perianth nodding : sepals and petals linear to linear-lanceolate, 2.5-4 

 cm. long, white, sometimes tinted with lavender, erect, barely spreading, not recurved : 

 stigmas recurved : capsules obovoid, 2-3 cm. long. 



On prairies, Iowa to Nebraska, and the Indian Territory. Winter and early spring. 



2. Erythronium albidum Nutt. Corms ovoid, 1-2 cm. long. Leaves apparently 



basal ; blades oblong to elliptic, 5-15 cm. long, acute, mottled with light and dark green, 



or of only one shade of green, narrowed into petiole-like bases : scapes 1-3 dm. tall, 



overtopping the leaves, slender : perianth white, pink or purplish, nodding : sepals and 



petals linear or linear-lanceolate, 3-3.5 cm. long, recurved, destitute of auricles : stigmas 



3, linear, 2-3 mm. long : capsules oblong or oblong-obovoid, 1-2 cm. long. 



In thickets and on hillsides, Ontario to Minnesota, Georgia and Texas. Spring. — A form from 

 Waco, Texas, with the sepals and petals suffused with rose-purple or red is known as E. albidum colord- 

 tum Sterns. 



3. Erythronium Americanum Ker. Corms ovoid, 1-2.5 cm. long. Leaves ap- 

 parently basal, usually 2 ; blades oblong to elliptic, 10-15 cm. long, acute, commonly 

 mottled above, lustrous on both sides, entire, sheathing at the base : scapes 1-3 dm. 

 tall, simple: peduncles more or less glaucous, simple: perianth-members various, 3-3.5 

 cm. long ; sepals linear-lanceolate, glaucous Avithout, greenish yellow within ; petals linear- 

 eljiptic, pale yellow, the niidvein green without, all spotted within below the middle : 

 stigma terminal, slightly lobed : capsules broadly obovoid, or fig-shaped, 1-1.5 cm. long. 



In thickets and moist woods. Nova Scotia to Ontario, Minnesota, Florida and Arkansas. Spring- 



4. QUAMASIA Eaf. 



Scapose herbs, with coated edible bulbs. Leaves basal : blades narrow, elongated. 

 Scape solitary, simple. Raceme terminal, cylindric. Pedicels subtended by narrow 

 bracts. Flowers perfect. Perianth white, blue or purple : sepals and petals 6, distinct, 

 equal, 3-8-nerved. Stamens G, adnate to the base of perianth-members : filaments fili- 

 form : anthers narrow, versatile, introrse. Ovary 3-celled : style filiform : stigma 

 3-lobed. Ovules numerous in each cavity. Capsule about as broad as long, 3-angled, 

 loculicidal. Seeds black, lustrous. [ Co?nassia Lindl.] 



1. Quamasia hyacinthina { Raf. ) Britton. Bulbs ovoid or subglobose, 2-3 cm. long : 



leaves basal ; blades narrowly linear, acuminate, 2-5 dm. long, entire : scapes 3-6 dm. 



tall, overtopping the leaves, wholly naked or rarely with 1 or 2 reduced leaves : racemes 



8-20 cm. long or longer at maturity, showy: pedicels spreading, 1-1.5 cm. long: bracts 



slender, membranous : perianth blue or rarely white, about as long as the pedicel : sepals 



and petals oblong, sometimes narrowly so, obtuse, several-nerved : capsules 3-angled, 7-8 



mm. long, broader than high. [Camassia Fraseri Torr.] 



In thickets and meadows, Pennsylvania to Minnesota, Georgia and Texas. Spring. Wild Hya- 

 cinth. 



