PONTEDERIACEJE. 897 



ASPARAGUS, 



15. STREPTO'PUS. 



Perianth 6-par(ed, campanulate; segments with a nectari- 

 ferous pore at the base of each; anthers longer than the 

 filaments; stigma very short ; berry roundish, 3-celled ; seeds 

 (ew, hihim williout an aril. 



Gr. c-TQi(ptt>, to turn, and -rovi, a foot ; in botanic language, a twisted foot- 

 stalk, the peduncle of each flower being constantly twisted in a peculiar 

 manner. Fl. solitary, axillary. 



1. S. AMPLEXIFO'lius. Dc. S. distortus. Mx. Uviilaria. L. 

 Smooth ; leaves oblong-ovate, clasping, smooth and entire on the maro-in, 



glaucous beneath ; p«/«ce/s solitary, geniculate and distorted in the middle ; 

 sepals long-acuminate, reflesed ; anthers very acute, entire ; sligma truncate. 

 Native of woods. Stem round, dichotomous, 2 feet high. Leaves 2 — 3 inches 

 long, ^ as wide, very smooth. Peduncles opposite the leaf, twisted and bent 

 downwards each with a bell-form, drooping flower gibbous at base, of a pale 

 straw-color. Anthers sagittate, attenuate at the apex into a lono-. subulate 

 point. Fruit oblong, red, many-seeded. Jn. Twisted Bell-wort. 



2. S. RO'SEUS. Mx. Uvularia. L. 

 Smooth ; leaves oblong-ovate, clasping, margin serrulate-ciliate, under 



surface green like the upper; pedicels short, generally distorted in the middle ; 

 segments spreading at apex ; anthers short, 2-horned ; stigma trifid. A more 

 common species, native of woods. Stem a foot or more high, round, dicho- 

 tomously biauching. Leaves 2 — 4 inclies long, ^ as wide, endino- in a 

 slender point, smooth, but conspicuously edged vvith minute, routrli hairs. 

 Flowers reddish, spotted, suspended beneath the branches, one under each 

 leaf. June. Rose Bell-wort. 



Tkibe 6. ASPAPvAGE^. 

 Stem vsualhj fiilhj developed, or if not, the leaves are coriaceous and permanent. 



16. ASPA'RAGUS. 



Perianth 6-parted, erect; ovary turbinate ; stamens erect; 

 style very short; stigmas 3; berry 3-celled, cells 2-seeded. 



Gr. <r7rciQa.a-(rci}, to tear; some of the species are armed with strono- prickles. 



A. officina'lis. 



Stem herbaceous, unarmed, very branching, erect ; leaves setaceous flexi- 

 ble, fasciculate. Native of England, and oilier parts of Europe, naturalized 

 on rocky shores. Stem 2 — 4 feet high. Leaves filiform, J — 1^ inch lonir, 

 pale pea-green. Flowers axillary, solitary or in pairs. Berries "dobose red. 

 it is one of the oldest and most delicate of culinary vegetaliles, Vi'as no less 

 praised in ancient Rome, by Pliny, Cato and other writers, than at the present 

 day. Diuretic. July. Asparagus. 



ORDER CLl V. PONTEDERIACEJE. r,e Pic,erel.u.ee. T,iU. 



Perianth tubular, colored, G-parted, often irreg-ular, circinate in ceslivalion. 

 Sla — 3 or G, unequal, perig-ynous. 



Om.— Free or sonieliines adherent to the perinnlh at base, 3-celled. Style 1. Stig. .simple. 

 i'>.— Capsule 3 (somelimcs Ij-celled, 3-valved, with luculicidal dehisee'nce. 

 Seeds numerous (sometimea solitary), atlachcd to a central axis. Albumen farinaceous. 

 II 



