AMARYLLIDACE5:. 383 NARCISSUS. 



inche;* high, lower part sheathed. Leaves 3 — 5, 2 — 3. inches long, ^ — 1 inch 

 wide, sessile, amplexicaul. Flower mostly solitary, with a leafy bract at base. 

 Segments about equal in length, the upper one as broad as the other 4 

 together. The singular form of the lip readily suggests the name of this 

 curious plant. May. Ram' s-hcad . 



ORDER CXLVIII. AMARYLLIDACE.E. m jvw..,,. r..*.. 



Perianth mostly regular, adherent to the ovarj', colored, consisting of 3 sepals and 3 petals. 

 Sta. — (3, arising t'rom the perianlh segments. Anthen introrse. 



Ova. — 3-celled,the cells many-ovuled (sometimes 1 — 2-ovuled). Style 1. Sti^. 3-lobed. 

 Fr- — A 3-celled capsule or berry. Seeds with fleshy albumen. 



Perennial herbs, generally with bulbous stems. Leaves parallel-veined. Flo'wers 

 showy, almost always either yellow or white, often on scapes and wifti spathaceous bracts. 

 Chiefly tropical plants, most abundant in Brazil and S. Africa. . Very tew are found in 

 our climate. 



Properties. A few of the Amaryllidace!»! possesses poisonous properties, which is very 

 rare among the Endogens. The Hottentots are said to poison their arrows by dipping them 

 in the viscid juice of the bulbs of Haemanthus toxicarius. The bulbs of Narcissus poeti- 

 cus, and other species, are emetic. The fermented juice of the Agave forms the intoxicating 

 palque of the Mexicans. Many are highly ornamental and are therefore cultivated. 



Conspectus of the Genera. 



( Corona 0. Scape bearing .3 — 5 small, yellow flowers. Hypoocis. 4 



< Corona of 3 emarginate segments. .... Galanlhus. 3 



Flo^ve^s regular. ( Corona monophyllous liarcifsus. 2 



Flowers irregular. Stamens declined Amaryllis. 1 



1. AMARY'LLIS. 



Perianth irregular, funnel-shaped, nodding; filaments de- 

 clined, arising from the orifice, unequal in proportion or 

 direction ; seeds flat, numerous. 



Lat. Amaryllis the name of a Nymph celebrated by Virgil and other poets ; 

 derived from Gr. ufActgiJcrcru), to shine with splendor. A splendid genus, 

 with a few native and many foreign species. Thev are easily cultivated from 

 offsets or the seed. A shell taken from the bulb with the leaf on it, and 

 planted in a pot of mould, will pioduce a bulb, as will almost any bulbous 

 plant. Sweet. 



1. A. FORMOSl'ssiMA. — Lv:>. radical -.forcers nodding, very ringent, tube 

 fringed ; stamens included in the involute lower segments. A splendid flow- 

 er, from Mexico, often grown with us in large pots of light, loainy soil. Root 

 bulbous. Leaves thick, oblong, narrow. Scape a foot high. Spathe red, dis- 

 closing a single large flower of a fine dark red color. Jn. — Aug. Jacobea Lily. 



2. A. Atama'sco. — Spathe 2-cIeft, acute ; flower pedicelled ; corolla 

 campanulate, with nearly equal petals, suberect. A pretty species found in 

 Penn., south to Carolina, sometimes cultivated. Leaves linear, a foot long. 

 Scape round, 6 inches high. Spathe a little colored, bifid at the summit. 

 Flower large, solitary, white and pink. Sepals acuminate. Jn. Mamasco Libj. 



2. NARCI'SSUS. 



Perianth regular ; corona monophjUous, funnel-form, con- 

 sisting of a whorl of united sterile stamens, within which the 

 fertile ones are inserted. 



