S8 



Ko. 4. 



sharp at the end : they are of a pale green or glan- 

 cous, and bleach in winter or by drying; the longest 

 are four inches — Stem from one to two feet high, 

 very simple and upright, scapiform or nearly naked, 

 with remote scales, whitish, adpressed, sometimes 

 changing into leaves, subulate, acute. 



Flowers white, forming a long slender scattered 

 spike ; each flower has a minute bract and very 

 short pedicel; shape oblong, spreading into six acute 

 segments like a star at the top, the outside has a 

 mealy, rugose appearance — six short stamina are in- 

 serted near the mouth, anthers cordate. Germ 

 one, central (not inferior) pyramidal. Style one, 

 separable into three. Capsul triangular, clothed by 

 the perigone, triangular, three valved at the top, 

 ihree celled, and with many central minute seeds. 



HISTORY — A true natural genus peAiliar to 

 North America, and containing two species very 

 similar to each other. The ^. ^urea differs merely 

 by narrower leaves, and yellow flowers more cam- 

 panulate. The ^. fragratiSy and others of Africa, 

 must form a peculiar genus, the OsmantheSj diflferent 

 from this in habit and fruit. Both American species 

 have the same properties. 



This genus does not belong to Liliacea nor •>^^- 



phodelides ; but to Aloides, next to j9fo€s and Cri- 



num^ in the natural arrangement. In the Linnsean 



it ranks in Hexandria Mdnogynia. Aletris means 



a miller in Greek, and farinosa means mealy in 



Latin ; boih names allude to the mealy appearance of 

 (he flowers. 



