444 



IRIDACE^. 



[part II. 



the calyx, (see a in Jig, 148) are reflexed, and 

 a stamen springs 

 from the base of 

 each, which re- 

 clines upon it, 

 with its anther 

 turned from the 

 rest of the flower, 

 the segment, in 

 many species, 

 having a kind of 

 crest or beard 

 near the base, as 

 though it were in- ^^^- 148.— flower of the iris, 

 tended to form a cushion for the stamen to 

 repose on, while over each stamen is spread, as 

 a kind of coverlid, a stigma (5) which is dilated 

 so as to resemble a petal. The petals (c) often 

 stand erect, and were called by Linnaeus the 

 standards. The seed-vessel, which forms below 

 the flower, is a three-celled capsule, opening, 

 when ripe, by three valves, and containing 

 numerous seeds. 



The other genera differ from the Iris in having 

 the lower part of the segments of the perianth 

 generally combined into a tube, with the ovary 

 below, looking like a footstalk ; the limb being 

 divided into six parts, all so much alike, both 

 in form and position, as to render it difficult to 



