a. 
CXXV. IRIDEM. 371 
fleshy or horny albumen.—Herbs with equitant leaves and 
brillant flowers, rising from spathe-like bracts. Very nume- 
rous in South Africa; several of the adopted genera have 
very trivial characters, but are mostly natural groups of spe- 
cies. 
1. Flowers either capitate, corymbose, or in thyrsi; each flower subtended 
by more than 2 bracts, or several flowers successively issuing from the 
sheath. Ovary generally pedicellate, rarely subsessile or sessile. 
Stigmas expanded, petaloid. 
Lobes of the stigma 2-fid. 
Filaments at inner perianth-segments nar- 
row. . 5 be Oe a cop Gt eO) emcee oye 
Filaments connate ; inner peng aremants very 
narrow. 2. VIEUSSEUXIA. 
Lobes of stigma pencil- -rnultifid ; " filaments connate 3. FERRARIA. 
Stigmas not petaloid. 
Perianth rotate, 6-parted 4. ARISTEA. 
Perianth tubular ; limb 6-parted, ‘spr reading 0 or erect 5. WITSENIA. 
2. Flowers in simple or branching spikes or solitary; each flower sub- 
tended by 2 distichous bracts. Ovary always sessile. 
a. Flowers in few- or many-flowered spikes. 
Stigmas 3, 2-fid or 2-parted. 
Stigmas 2-fid; perianth-tube long and slender ; 
limb spreading, subequal, one begat with 
a deep-coloured spot . . . . 7. ANOMATHECA. 
Stigmas 2-parted, with long slender lobes. 
Flowers in loose, sometimes corymbose spikes, 
often secund . . Agen fb Rees eel chr GLOVAED AG 
Flowers in dense spikes, 2-ranked, the bracts 
imbricating . . . . . 11. Watsonra. 
Stigmas 3, cuneate or linear, but ‘not 2-fid. 
Stigmas more or less cuneate, expanded or folded. 
Bracts herbaceous, HOSE E DE ; leaves 
plaited. . . 8. BABIANA. 
Bracts herbaceous, taper- pointed ; leaves rib- 
striate. 
Perianth-tube gradually expanding into a 
ringent or subequal limb . . ; 9, GLADIOLUS. 
Perianth-tube suddenly expanding into a 
wide throat and ringent limb . . . . 10, ANTHOLYzA. 
Bracts membranous, either torn or subentire . 12. SPARAXIs. 
Stigmas slender, filiform, often very long. 
Perianth 6-parted, the segments taper-pointed. 15. Drasta. 
Perianth with a long or short tube ; segments 
obtuse or acute, but not tapering. 
Bracts scarious. 
Bracts toothed; limb of perianth often 
unequal. . . . . ,. 13. MonrsReria. 
Bracts truncate, entiee.t or subentire een Ay ETA 
Bracts herbaceous. 
Perianth with a longish tube and spread- 
ing limb. 
