IKIDACb:^. (iKIS FAMILY.) 513 



rouglieiied perianth; the dehiscence, seeds, etc., nearly as in Lophiola. — Pe- 

 rennial and smootli steniless iierbs, very bitter, with fibrous roots, and a spread- 

 ing cluster of tliin and fiat lanceolate leaves ; the small flowers in a wand-like 

 spiked raceme, terminating a naked slender scape (2-3° high). Bracts awl- 

 shaped, minute. ('AAerp/s, a female slave wlio grinds corn ; the name applied 

 to these plants in allusion to the apparent mealiness dusted over the blossoms.) 



1. A. farinosa, L. Flowers oblong-tubular, white; lobes lanceolate- 

 oblong. — Gra.ssy or sandy woods, Mass. to Fla., 111., and Minn. July, Aug. 



2. A. aurea, Walt. Flowers bell-shaped, yellow (fewer and shorter) ; 

 lobes short-ovate. — Barrens, X. J. to Fla. July. 



Order 113. IKIDACE^. (Iris Family.) 



Herbs, tvith equitant 2-ranked leaves, and regular or irregular perfect 

 flowers ; the divisions of the 6-cleft petal-like perianth convolute in the bud 

 in 2 sets, the tube coherent tcith the ^-celled ovary, and 3 distinct or mona- 

 delphous stamens, alternate with the inner divisio7is of the perianth, with 

 extrorse anthers. — Flowers from a spathe of 2 or more leaves or bracts, 

 usually showy. Style single, usually 3-cleft ; stigmas 3, opposite the 

 cells of the ovary, or 6 by the parting of the style-branches. Capsule 

 3-celled, loculicidal, many-seeded. Seeds anatropous ; embryo straight 

 in fleshy albumen. Rootstocks, tubers, or corms mostly acrid. 



* Branches of the style (or stigmas) opposite the anthers, 

 L Iris. Outer divisions of the perianth recurved, the inner erect ; stigmas petal-like. 

 # * Branches of the style alternate with the anthers. Perianth regular. 



2. Neinastylis. Stem from a coated bulb. Filaments united. Style-branches 2-cleft. 



3. Belamcanda. Stems from a creeping rhizome. Filaments distinct. Stigmas dilated. 



4. Sisyrinchiuni. Root fibrous. Filaments united. Stigmas tliread-lilco. 



1. I HIS, Tourn. Flower-de-Luce. 



Perianth 6-cleft ; the tube more or less prolonged beyond the ovary ; the 3 

 outer divisions spreading or reflexed, the 3 inner smaller, erect. Stamens 

 distinct ; the oblong or linear anthers sheltered under the overarching petal- 

 like stigmas (or rather branches of the style, bearing the true stigma in the 

 form of a thin lip or plate under the apex) ; most of the style connate with 

 the tube of the perianth. Capsule 3- 6-aiigled, coriaceous. Seeds depressed- 

 flattened, usually in 2 rows in each cell. — Perennials, with sword-shaped or 

 grassy leaves, and large showy flowers ; ours with creeping and more or less 

 tuberous rootstocks. Clpis, the rainbow, anciently applied to this genus on 

 account of its bright and varied colors.) 



* Stems leafj and rather tall (1-3° high), from thickened rootstocks, often 

 branching ; tube of the perianth shorter than the divisions, ivhich are beardless 

 and crestless, the erect inner ones (petals) much smaller than the outer. 



•*- Floicers violet-blue, variegated with green, gellow or ichite, and purple-veined. 



1. I. versicolor, L. (Larger Blue Flag.) Stem stout, angled on 

 one side ; leare>i sword-shaped (f ' wide) ; ovary obtusely triangular with tlie 

 sides flat; flowers (2^-3' long) short-peduncled, the funnel-forni tube shorter 



