60 IRIS FAMILY 



15. DISPORUM. Fairy Bells. 



1. D. trachyandrum Britt. Leaves ovate, somewhat heart- 

 shaped at the sessile base, abruptly acute, 1 to 2j^ in. long. 

 Flowers greenish, not Yi in. long, on short drooping pedicels, 

 solitary or in small clusters. Stamens shorter than the peri- 

 anth; anthers with very short stiff hairs. Ovary and obo- 

 vate scarlet berry glabrous. 



The flowers of this plant are seldom seen, for they are 

 neatly tucked away on short, pendent stalks beneath the 

 broad and thin leaves of the spreading upper branches. The 

 lower part of the stem, which may be a foot or two high, is 

 nearly devoid of foliage. It is one of the rarest of Dis- 

 porums, being restricted to the westerly slope of the Sierra 

 Nevada. It grows around Bridal Veil Meadows and along the 

 road to Chinquapin. 



16. TRILLIUM. Wake Robin. 



1. T. sessile L. Common Trillium. Stem simple, Y\ to 2 

 ft. high, naked below. Leaves 3, all borne in a whorl at the 

 summit, round-ovate, net-veined, 3 to 5 in. long and about as 

 broad. Flower solitary, sessile in the whorl of leaves, about 

 2 in. long, dull purple (rarely white). Segments and stamens 

 6 each. Ovary 3-celled, becoming a fleshy reddish capsule. — 

 Rare in the Sierra Nevada; probably occurs in the Big Tree 

 groves, in the var. angustipetalum Torr., with leaves narrowed 

 at base and petals narrowly oblanceolate to linear. T. ovatum 

 Pursh, with distinctly peduncled flowers, grows in the Coast 

 Ranges and the northern Sierra Nevada. 



IRIDACEAE. Iris Family. 

 Perennial herbs with sheathing grass-like leaves and perfect 

 regular flowers, the 6 petal-like divisions of the perianth in 2 

 series. Stamens on the base of the sepals. Ovary inferior, 

 becoming a 3-celled capsule; style 3-cleft. 

 Flowers \ x /x in. or more long, with dissimilar segments. .. 1. Iris. 

 Flowers under }4 in. long, with similar segments 2. Sisyrinchium. 



1. IRIS. Wild Flag. 



Stems from stout creeping rootstocks. Perianth with a 

 distinct tube above the ovary; outer segments spreading, the 

 inner narrower and erect. Stamens distinct, with narrow 

 anthers beneath the arching petal-like style-branches. Seeds 

 numerous, black, flat. 



1. I. hartwegii Baker. Stems 6 to 12 in. high, many, very 



