MELANTHACE^. (COLCHICUM FAMILY.) 517 



slender, loug aud spreading, loosely flowered ; leaves of the perianth greenish, 

 spatuhite, smooth, twice as long as the stamens; ovary smooth. — Mountains 

 of North Carolina. July. — Stem 2°-5°higli. Lowest leaves 9'- 12' long. 

 Flowers 4" -5" wide. 



8. AMIANTHIUM, Gray. Fly Poison. 



Flowers perfect. Leaves of the perianth oblong or obovate, sessile, spread- 

 ing, glandless, shorter than the slender stamens. Anthers kidney-shaped, be- 

 coming peltate. Styles slender ; stigmas minute. Capsule membranaceous, 

 3-lobed, the cells separating and opening down the inner suture, few-seeded. 

 Seeds oblong or linear, wingless. — Stems simple, smooth, tumid or bulbous 

 at the base, scape-like above. Lowest leaves long and crowded. Flowers 

 white, in a simple raceme. 



1. A. muscaetoxicum, Gray. Stem bulbous at the base, somewhat 

 angled ; lowest leaves strap-shaped, obtuse, channelled, the uppermost small 

 and bract-like ; i-aceme cylindrical, densely flowered ; leaves of the perianth 

 oblong, nearly equalling the stamens ; styles spreading ; seeds ovoid, red. — 



— Rich woods. May -June. — Stem l°-2° high. Flowers small, turning 

 greenish. 



2. A. angUStifolium, Gray. Stem tumid at the base, slender, terete; 

 leaves linear, acute, ciiannelled, somewhat glaucous, the lowest very long, the 

 uppermost small and bract-like ; raceme oblong, mostly densely flowered ; 

 leaves of the perianth oval, shorter than the stamens ; styles erect ; seeds 

 linear. — Low pine barrens. May - June. — Stem 2° high. Flowers turning 

 purple. 



3. A. ? aspericaule, Gray. Stem and flowers pulverulent-roughened ; 

 stem leaves linear-lanceolate, flat; flowers in a small (2' long) spike-like pani- 

 cle, composed of spiked racemes. — Near Columbia, South Carolina (Curtis). 



— Imperfectly known. 



9. SCHCENOCAULOlSr, Gray. 



Flowers perfect. Leaves of the perianth somewhat spreading, linear-oblong, 

 glandless ; filaments subulate, at length twice as long as the perianth : an- 

 thers kidney-shaped, becoming peltate. Ovary 6-8-ovuled. Styles very 

 short : stigmas minute. Capsule oblong, obtusely 3-angled, 3-valved, the cells 

 1-seeded. Seeds linear, nearly terete. — Scape very slender, bulbous at the 

 base. Leaves all radical, very long and narrow, dry, channelled. Flowers 

 small, pale green, crowded in a slender spike. 



I. S. gracile, Gray. — Dry sands, Georgia and Florida. April - May. 

 Leaves l°-2° long, scarcely 1" wide. Scape 2° -3° high, rush-like. Spike 

 3' -10' long. 



10. XEROPHYLLUM, Michx. 



Flowers perfect. Leaves of the perianth widely spreading, se.<5sile, oval, as 

 long as the subulate filaments. Anthers round-ovate, 2-ce]led. Styles fili- 

 form : stigmas decurrent within. Capsule roundish, 3-lobed, loculicidaily 3- 

 valved. Seeds 2 in each cell, collateral, oblong, wingless. — Stem bulbous at 



