IRIDACE4E. (IRIS FAMILY.) 473 
i | . 
6-angled ovary ; stigmas much longer than the anthers, nearly as long as the 
interior perianth, the large lips cut-toothed ; capsule oblong-cylindrical, 6-angled. 
— Swamps, Florida to South Carolina, near the coast. April.— Stem 29-39 
high. Lowest leaves 29 —39 long. Flowers 4/ long. 
3. I. cuprea, Pursh. Stem simple, furrowed and l-angled below; leaves 
linear-sword-shaped ; flowers axillary and terminal, single or by pairs, crestless, 
dull yellow; tube of the perianth somewhat inflated, as long as the 6-angled 
ovary; stigmas scarcely longer than the anthers, about half as long as the 
petals, the lips nearly entire ; capsule tumid, 6-angled. — Swamps in the lower 
districts of Georgia, Elliott, and westward. April and May.— Stem 39 high. 
Leaves 29 long. Flowers 2! long. 
4. I. tripetala, Walt. Stem terete, simple, or with peduncle-like branches; 
leaves rather short, sword-shaped, glaucous ; flowers terminal, solitary, crestless, 
blue, variegated with yellow and purple; inner divisions of the perianth very 
short, wedge-shaped, abruptly pointed ; stigmas 2-toothed at the base, and with 
toothed lips ; ovary 3-angled, longer than the short terete tube of the perianth ; 
capsule oval, 3-angled. — Pine-barren swamps, Florida to North Carolina. June 
and July. —Stem 1°-2° high. Leaves 1° long. Flowers 2/—3' long, some- 
times by pairs. Limb of the sepals roundish. 
5. I. Virginica, L. Stem slender, simple; leaves elongated, grass-like ; 
flowers 2 — 6, terminal, on a long and slender peduncle, crestless, blue and white; | 
ovary 3-angled, 2-furrowed on the sides, much longer than the very short tube 
of the perianth ; capsule 3-angled, acute at each end. — Swamps, North Caro- 
lina, Tennessee, and northward. June.— Stem and lower leaves 2° long. 
Flowers 14/ long. : 
* * Stems low, with sheath-like leaves ; divisions of the perianth nearly equal. 
6. I. verna, L. Stem very short, concealed by the short spathe-like leaves, 
I-flowered ; proper leaves linear-sword-shaped, glaucous; perianth pale blue, 
erestless, the divisions about as long as the filiform partly concealed tube; 
capsule 3-angled. — Pine barrens of the middle districts, mostly in dry soil, 
Alabama to North Carolina. April.— Leaves 5/—8' long. Limb of the peri- 
anth 1' long. à 
7. I. cristata, Ait. Stem 1 -3-flowered ; leaves lanceolate (3/- 5! long) ; 
. Outer divisions of the perianth crested, much shorter than the filiform tube; 
capsule acutely 3-angled; otherwise like the preceding. — Mountains of North 
Carolina. May. ; 
2. SISYRINCHIUM, L. Brve-rrep Grass. 
Perianth corolla-like, 6-parted, the divisions nearly equal, spreading. Stamens 
3, monadelphous : anthers sagittate. Style short: stigmas 3, simple, filiform 
and involute. Capsule and seeds roundish. — Grass-like herbs, with fibrous 
roots, and seape-like 2-edged stems. Flowers small, in an umbellate cluster, 
