266 SOUTH AFRICAN FLOWERING PLANTS. 



free or coherent ; stamens, 6, adherent to perianth or 

 free ; ovary, inferior, 3-celled. 

 Fruit — Capsule or berry. 



Liliaceae. 



The Lily Family. 



This is an order containing some 2100 species of 

 187 genera in 20 tribes. South Africa has 31 genera. 

 It takes its name from the genera Lil'imn, which has 

 about 45 species, all natives of the northern hemisphere. 

 The order only differs from Amaryllideoe by having the 

 perianth inferior and the ovary superior ; for, as in that 

 order, the six leaves may be free or coherent, and the 

 stamens may be free or adherent to the perianth. All 

 have six stamens with introrse anthers and a fruit, 

 either a capsule or a berry. 



Ornithog^'alum. — This genus has many South African 

 as well as foreign species ; one, called the " Star of 

 Bethlehem" {0. uinbella'tum), is not uncommon in 

 England. The perianth is six-parted, and spreading 

 in flower (Fig. 104, II.). The stamens are at the base 

 of the perianth leaves. It has a membranous capsule. 



The flowers are white, orange, or scarlet, rarely 

 yellow. 



Aloe. — This is a very large genus recognized by its 

 massive and fleshy leaves. It is sometimes almost 

 tree-like, with a simple or branched stem. The flowers 



