48 AMARYLLIS FAMILY 



pearance, but, unlike the true lilies, each crinum flower 

 encloses the young seed-vessel in the base of its tube. 



Glimpses of this crinum's rare beauty are had from the 

 car window, but a more satisfactory way of botanizing is 

 to search along the borders of streams, where the fragrant 

 flowers open in purest white, against which are contrasted 

 the red stamen filaments. 



Crinum americanmn. Flowers white, 6-lobed, lobes 2-4 in. 

 long, spreading from summit of narrow tube of equal length. 

 Flowers 2-4, in umbel on stalk 1-2 ft. tall. Leaves basal, 

 strap-shaped, 1-4 ft. long. River swamps. Blooming from 

 spring to fall. Fla. to Ga, and Texas. \ 



Spider Lily. Alligator Lily (Genus Hymenocallis) 



Freakish and rare in their beauty, a few of our native 

 plants seem entirely foreign to our flora. Ghostly white 

 the strange spider lilies gleam against dark river banks, 

 or rise among the grasses of Florida sands. 



The basal tube of each flower is long and slender, and 

 inside the spreading lobes at its summit the long filaments 

 of the six stamens are for a little distance connected by 

 a gauzy white membrane, like an inner cup. From the 

 spreading border of this cup the white filaments stretch 

 out still farther, giving a most singular appearance to 

 the flower. Several species grow in the state, and a few 

 are listed in florists' catalogues. 



Hymenocallis rotatimi. Flowers white, 6-lobed, in umbel 

 of 2-6 on stalk 1-2 ft. tall. Lobes narrow, 2-4 in. long, spread- 

 ing from summit of slender tube of equal length. Filaments 

 connected below by white membrane about 1 in. high. 

 Leaves basal, 1-2 ft. long, less than 1 in. wide. Low grounds 

 and sandy soil. Blooming in spring and summer. Fla. to 

 N. C. 



Hymenocallis caribaea. Stalk 6-12-flowered, 2-3 ft. tall. 

 Leaves 2-3 ft. long, 2 in. wide or more. Sandy soil. Bloom- 

 ing in summer. Fla. 



