DioscoREA. CL. DIOSCOREACEiE. 543 



5—6' broad, yellow, variegated with scarlet, crimson and purple. It is very 



evanescent, lasting but a few hours, but a new one appears daily lor several 



weeks. It ripens seeds, from which, or Irom offsets, it may be increased. Jl.— Sept.f 



5. SISYRINCniUM. 



Gr. aiif, a hog, and pi'y;\;oj, u Biiout; alludiiiK to ihc singular np.ilhe. 



Spathe 2-loaved ; .segments of the perianth flat, equal : stamens 

 monadelphous ; stigma 3-cleft. — % Grass-like plants, wU/i cumpresstd, 

 ancipilal scapes. 



1. S. ANCFPs. (S. gramineum. Lam.) Dluc-cycd Grass. 



Scape simple, winged; valves of llic spathe unequal, tlic longer scarcely 

 equaling the flowers; pet. mucronate. — A delicate little plant, with blue flowers, 

 common in low grass-lands. Can. and U. S. Stem or scape 10 — 12' high, so 

 winged as to resemble the leaves, smooth and mostly simple. Leaves linear, 

 about as long as the scape, sheathing at base. Spathe 2 — 5-flowered, the longer 

 valve acuminate. Flowers purple or blue, on filiform pedicels. Sepals a little 

 broader than the petals, spreading. Capsules globose. Jn. Jl. 

 2. S, MUCRONATUM. Michx. Bliie-cycd Grass. 



Scape simple, subsetaceous ; spalhe colored, outer valve longer than the 

 flowers, ending in a long, mucronate point. — Middle States, W. to Ky. Found 

 in wet meadows, where the grass is not luxuriant. Leaves radical, a line wide. 

 Scape 6 — 10' high, narrowly winged, setaceously slender. Spathe of 2 very 

 unequal valves, 3 — 4-flowered, tinged with purple. Flowers smaller than in 

 the preceding, of a fine blue color. Jn. 



6. CROCUS. 



Named trom the youth Crocus, who, according to Grecian mythology, was changed into this flower. 



Perianth funnel-form, the segments united at base into a long and 

 slender tube ; stigma 3-cleft, convolute, crested. — Spathe radical. 1 — 2- 

 ledvcd, thin, transparent. The long tvbc of the flower 'iiearly or quite ses- 

 sile upon the bulb. After flowering., the ovary arises from the ground 

 by the growth of the scape, to ripen its seeds in the sun. 



1. C. SATivus, Saffron. — Lvs. linear, revolute at the margins; .<;^i;r. 3-parted, 

 as long as the corolla, reflexed. — From Asia. Stem bulbous. Leaves radical, 

 with a longitudinal, white furrow above. Flower nearly or quite sessile on the 

 bulb, with a long, white tube, and purple, elliptical segments. Stigmas long, 

 emarginate, exsert, of a deep orange-color. Its virtues, both medicinal and 

 coloring, reside chiefly in the large stigmas. Sept. — A variety, perhaps the 

 most common, has yellow perianths. \ 



2. C. vERNUs. Spring Crocus. — Slig. included within the flower, with 3, 

 short, wedge-shaped segments. — Native of the Alps. Stem bulbous. Scape an 

 inch or two high, 3-sided. Flowers vary in color, generally purple, often 3'el- 

 low or white ; tube very long, slender, gradually enlarged upwards, closed at the 

 mouth with a circle of hairs, limb campanulate, much shorter than the tube. 

 Anthers yellow, sagittate. Flowers in March or April. The Crocus is propa- 

 gated in gardens chiefly by bulbs, f 



Order CL. DIOSCOREACEiE.— Yam Roots. 



Shrubs, twining. Lt's. usually allcrnale and reticulate-veined. 



FIs. dioecious. Perianth tube adlierent to the ovary ; segments of limb 6, in 2 series. 



^ttrUe.—Sta. 6, inserted into the base of the sepals and petals. 



Fertile. — Ova. 3-celled. cells l— 2-ovuled. Styles and s/is^nias nearly distinct. 



fy.— Capsule 3-winged, compressed. '2 of the cells sometimes abortive. 



SJ-y. flat, compressed. Embri/o small, in cartilaginous albumen. 



Genera 6, species 110. The only remarkable or useful product of this order is yams, an imi)ortant article 

 ci food in all tropical countries. They are the large, mucilaginous, sweetish tubers of Dioscorea sativa, &c. 



DIOSCOREA. 



In honor of Pedacius Dioscoridcs, a Greek Physician and florist of about the reign of Xero. 



Flowers c^9; styles of the fertile flowers 3; cells of tlie capsule 

 46* 



