IRIS FAMILY 49 



H3nnenocallis Palmeri. Stalk 1-flowered, 6-10 in. tall. 

 Tube of flower 3-4 in. long, lobes nearly as long. Leaves 

 narrow, 10-20 in. long. Sandy soil. Blooming in spring and 

 summer. Fla. 



Hymenocallis humilis. Stalk 1-flowered, 3-6 in. tall. Flow- 

 ers greenish white, tube about 1 in. long, lobes 2 in. long. 

 Leaves very narrow, 4-6 in. long. Sandy soil. Fla. 



IRIS FAMILY (Mdaceae) 



Flowers 6-parted, blue or purple. Leaves sword-shaped or 

 grasslike. Fruit a capsule. 



Blue Flag. Ikis. Fleur-de-Lis (Genus Iris) 



Iris flowers are peculiar in form; of their six divisions 

 the three outer are large, and spread or droop, the inner 

 are smaller and more erect, and the three stamens are con- 

 cealed under the three arched, petal-like divisions of the 

 style. 



In opulence undreamed of the blue flag, whose generic 

 name signifies "the rainbow,'^ ornaments acres upon acres 

 in many localities in Florida, and for week after week 

 opens handsome flowers three to six inches across. Low 

 grounds bordering streams and surrounding cypress 

 swamps, where in the rainy season the water may stand sev- 

 eral inches deep, are favorite locations of this southern 

 form of Iris versicolor, which near the Caloosahatchee 

 River begins to bloom in February, and in the marshes east 

 of New Smyrna is in its glory in March and April. Areas 

 of several square yards in extent are occasionally found 

 where the flowers are white. 



Iris versicolor. Flowers blue or purple, variegated toward 

 the center with white, yellow, and green, short-stalked in ter- 



