452 IRIDACEAE. 
12. Iris vérnal,. Dwarf Iris. (Fig. 1080.) 
Iris verna I,. Sp. Pl. 39. 1753: 
Rootstock slender. Stems 1/-3’ high, usually 1- 
flowered. Leaves narrowly linear, 3/-8’ high, 2’/-5/’ 
wide; flowers violet-blue or rarely white, pedicelled; 
perianth-segments crestless, the outer about 14’ long, 
obovate, narrowed into slightly pubescent slender yel- 
low claws, the inner somewhat smaller, glabrous; 
capsule obtusely triangular, short. 
On shaded hillsides and in woods, southern Pennsylva- 
nia to Virginia, Kentucky and Georgia. Rootstock de- 
scribed as ‘‘ pungently spicy.’’ April-May. 
2. NEMASTYLIS Nutt. Trans. Am. Phil. Soc. (II.) 5: 157. 1833-37. 
[EustyLis Engelm. & Gray, Bost. Journ. Nat. Hist. 5: 235. 1845. ] 
Bulbous herbs with erect slender terete usually branched stems and elongated linear 
folded leaves. Flowers rather large, in our species blue or purple, solitary or several to- 
gether, fugacious, subtended by 2 herbaceous bracts. Perianth of 6 spreading nearly equal 
obovate segments, distinct nearly or quite to the summit of the ovary. Filaments more or 
less united; anthers short; style short, its branches alternate with the anthers, each slen- 
derly 2-parted; stigmas small, terminal. Capsule oblong, ovoid or obovoid, loculicidally 
dehiscent at the summit. [Greek, referring to the thread-like style-branches. } 
About Io species, natives of America. Besides the following, some 3 others occur in the 
southern United States. 
1. Nemastylis acuta (Bart.) Herb. 
Northern Nemastylis. (Fig. ro8r.) 
Ixia acuta Bart. Fl. N. A. 2:89. fl. 66. 1822. 
Nemastylis gemmiflora Nutt. Trans. Am. Phil. Soc. 
(II.) 5: 157. 1833-37. 
Nemastylis acuta Herb. Bot. Mag. pl. 3779. 1839-40. 
Bulb dark colored, ovoid, scaly, 1’ or less long. 
Stem 1°-2° tall, bearing 3 or 4 leaves, 3’—10’ long, 
114’/-2'%4’’ wide; bracts lanceolate, each pair sub- 
tending 1 or 2 flowers; flowers light blue or pur- 
ple, 1/—2’ broad, slender-pedicelled; pedicels rather 
shorter than the bracts; perianth-segments oblong- 
obovate, obtuse; style-branches exserted between 
the free parts of the filaments, their filiform divi- 
sions 2//-3/’ long; capsule obovoid, 5’’-6’” high, 
3//-4’’ in diameter. 
On prairies, Tennessee to Kansas and Arkansas, 
south to Louisiana and Texas. April-June. 
3. GEMMINGIA Fabr. Enum. Pl. Hort. Helm. 17509. 
[BELAMCANDA Adans. Fam. Pl. 2:60. 1763.] 
[PARDANTHUS Ker, in Koenig & Sims, Ann. Bot. 1: 246. 1805. ] 
An erect perennial herb, with short stout rootstocks and /77s-like leaves. Flowers in 
terminal bracted clusters, rather large, orange and purple-mottled. Perianth of 6 oblong 
spreading nearly equal withering-persistent segments, distinct very nearly to the summit of 
the ovary. Stamens inserted on the bases of the segments; filaments distinct; anthers linear- 
oblong. Style very slender, enlarged above, the 3 slender undivided branches alternate with 
the anthers. Capsule fig-shaped, obovoid, thin-walled, loculicidally 3-valved, the valves re- 
curving, finally falling away, exposing the mass of black fleshy seeds, which are borne on a 
central axis. 
A monotypic genus of eastern Asia. 
