488 MELANTHACEiE. (COLCHICUM FAMILY.) 



the apex, longer than the filaments. Styles united : stigma 3-cleft or entire. 

 Berry nearly globose, many-seeded — Erect herbs, with spreading branches. 

 Leaves clasping. Peduncles opposite the leaves, bent or twisted in the middle. 



1. S. roseus, Michx. Stem much branched, with the branches flexuous 

 and sprinkled with hairs ; leaves ovate, or the uppermost lanceolate, acuminate, 

 slightly clasping, ciliate on the margins, 5 - 7-nerved ; flowers mostly solitary, 

 small, rose-color, nodding ; anthers 2-pointed at the apex ; stigma 3-cleft. — 

 Shady woods on tiie mountains of Georgia, and northward. May. — Stem 2° 

 high. Leaves 2'- 4' long, green on both sides. Flowers 3" - 4" long. 



4. MELANTHIUM, L. 



Flowers monoeciously polygamous. Divisions of the perianth spreading, 

 long-clawed, somewhat cordate or hastate and biglandular at the base ; the fila- 

 ments partly adhering to their claws : anthers reniform, becoming peltate, the 

 cells confluent. Styles 3, subulate. Capsule membranaceous, 3-lobed, the cells 

 separating and opening down the inner suture, several-seeded. Seeds flat, 

 winged. — Stems tumid at the base, rough-pubescent above. Leaves long, lin- 

 ear. Flowers panicled, cream-color, turning brownish. 



1. M. Virginicum, L. Stem tall, simple, the upper portion, like the 

 loose panicle, pubescent and somewhat hoary , lowest leaves long, broadly lin- 

 ear and clasping, the upper small and sessile ; flowers shorter than the pedicels, 

 the upper ones perfect , leaves of tiie perianth oblong or roundish, often acute, 

 the slender claw adnate to the lower half of the filaments ; glands conspicuous. 

 (M. hybridum, Walt., the claws concave and adnate to the filaments below the 

 middle ; glands connivent or obscure.) — Swamps, Florida, and northward. 

 July and Aug. — Stem 3° - 4° high. Lowest leaves 1° - 1^° long. 



5. ZIGADENUS, Michx. 



Flowers perfect. Leaves of the perianth ovate or oblong, spreading, sessile or 

 nearly so, 1 - 2-glandular at the base. Filaments free from the perianth, and of 

 equal length : anthers broadly cordate, becoming peltate. Styles 3, slender, 

 spreading. Capsule membranaceous, 3-angled, septicidal at the apex, many- 

 seeded. Seeds oblong, wingless, or slightly margined. — Stems smooth and 

 simple. Lowest leaves crowded, linear. Flowers white, in crowded panicles. 



1. Z. glaberrimus, Michx. Stem rigid, leafy; lowest leaves broadly 

 linear, elongated, glaucous beneath, the upper small and scattered; panicle small, 

 rigid; bracts ovate; leaves of the perianth oblong, short-clawed, often with a 

 white callus on one or both sides at the base; glands prominent; stamens and 

 styles subulate ; seeds oblong — Pme-barren swamps, Florida to North Carolina. 

 June and July. — Stem 2° - 3° high. Lowest leaves 1°-1|° long, ranicle 

 6' -12' long, commonly dense. Flowers 1' in diameter, as long as the pedicels. 



2. Z. leimanthoides, Gray. Stem slender, somewhat naked above; 

 leaves narrowly linear, green on both sides ; panicle slender; bracts lanceolate; 

 leaves of the perianth oval or obovate, sessile, the glands obscure or wanting ; 



