IRIS FAMILY. 453 
1. Gemmingia Chinénsis (L.) Kuntze. Blackberry Lily. (Fig. 1082.) 
Ixta Chinensis ¥,. Sp. Pl. 36. 1753. 
Betapace ae Chinensis DC. in Red. Lil. 3: p/. 727. 
Pagdaniiies Chinensts Ker, in Koenig & Sims, 
Ann. Bot. 1: 246. 1805. 
Stem rather stout, 114°-4° tall, leafy. Leaves 
pale green, nearly erect, equitant, folded, 8/’- 
10’ long, 8//-12/’ wide, the two sides united 
above the middle; bracts lanceolate, much 
shorter than the leaves, the upper ones sca 
rious; flowers several or numerous, 114/-2/ 
broad; perianth-segments obtuse at the apex, 
narrowed at the base, persistent and coiled to- 
gether on the ovary after flowering, mottled 
with crimson and purple on the upper side; 
capsule about 1’ high and rather more than 14’ 
in diameter, truncate or rounded at the sum- 
mit; mass of globose seeds erect, resembling 
a blackberry, whence the common name. 
On hills and along roadsides, southern New 
York to Georgia, Indianaand Missouri. Natural- 
ized from Asia. June-July. Fruit ripe July—Sept. 
4. SISYRINCHIUM L. Sp. Pl. 954. 1753. 
Perennial tufted slender herbs, with short rootstocks, simple or branched 2-edged or 2- 
winged stems, linear grass-like leaves, and rather small mostly blue terminal flowers um- 
bellate from a pair of erect green bracts. Perianth-tube short or none, the 6 spreading seg- 
ments oblong or obovate, equal, mostly aristulate. Filaments united to above the middle 
in our species. Ovary 3-celled, each cavity several ovuled. Style-branches filiform, un- 
divided, alternate with the anthers. Capsule globose, oval or obovoid, loculicidally 3- 
valved. Seeds subglobose or ovoid, smooth or pitted, dry. 
About 70 species, all American. Besides the following, some 7 others occur in the Western 
States. Those here described have ali been referred to S. Bermudiana I,., by American authors. 
‘The two bracts equal or nearly so; stems usually branched above. 
Leaves 1''—3'' wide; capsule subglobose, 2'’—3'’ in diameter when mature. 1. S. graminotdes. 
Leaves %''-114'' wide; capsule oval, 1’’-2'’ in diameter when mature. 2. S. Atlanticum. 
‘The lower of the bracts longer than the upper; stems mostly simple. 3. S. angustifolium . 
1. Sisyrinchium graminoides Bicknell. Stout Blue-eyed Grass. (Fig. 1083. ) 
Stsyrinchium anceps S. Wats. in A. Gray, Man. Ed. 
6, 515. 1890. Not Cav. 
Sisyrinchium graminoides Bicknell, Bull. Torr. 
Club, 23: 133. 1896. 
Rather light green, somewhat glaucous; stem 
broadly 2-winged, stout, erect, or reclining, 8’— 
18’ tall, usually terminating in two unequal 
branches subtended by a conspicuous grassy leaf. 
Basal leaves equalling or shorter than the stem, 
1//-3/’ wide; often lax and grass-like; edges of 
‘stems and leaves usually perceptibly rough-ser- 
rulate; bracts 1’ long or less, green, nearly or 
quite equal but the outer one occasionally pro- 
longed; umbels 2-4-flowered; pedicels filiform, 
8//-12/’ long, exceeding the bracts, finally often 
spreading or recurved; flowers 6//-9’’ broad; 
petals sparsely pubescent on outer surface; cap- 
sule subglobose, 21%4’’-3/’ in diameter when 
mature; seeds black, nearly globular, about %4//- 
24// in diameter, pitted. 
In grassy places, in moist or dryish soil, sometimes 
in woods, Massachusetts to Florida and Louisiana, 
Plant dark in drying. April-June. 
