Okdeb 143.— IRIDACEiE. 697 



woolly outside and inside ; petals narrower than the sepals, somewhat 

 interior ; stamens 6, filaments naked, anthers erect ; style conical, 3- 

 partible ; stigma simple ; capsule opening at the summit, 3-celled, 

 3-valved, many-seeded. — An herb with a creeping root, fiexuous stem, 

 woolly above, and a loose cormyb, densely clothed with soft, white 

 wool. 



L. Americana. Sandy swamps, pine barrens, N. J. St. 1 to 2f high, erect, 

 hoary-tornentous when young. Lvs. glaucous, narrowly linear, equitant, glab- 

 rous, the lower and radical long, cauline 2 or 3, shorter. Corymb finally much 

 expanded, many flowered. Corolla woolly and yellow within, segments reflexed, 

 about as long as the stamens. Capsule ovate, dissepiments arising from the center 

 of each valve. Seeds white. JI, Aug. (L. aurea Ker. Conostylis, Ph.) 



3. ALE V TRIS, L. Star-grass. Colic-root. (Gr. aXerpig, a mil- 

 ler's wife ; because of the mealy-looking flowers.) Perianth 6-cleft, 

 tubular, rugous as if scurfy or mealy, persistent ; stamens issuing at the 

 top of the tube, style 3-sided, 3-partible ; ovary adherent at base only ; 

 capsule opening at top, many-seeded. — Smooth herbs, very bitter, lvs. 

 radical, rosulate, and scape many-flowered. 



1 A. farinosa L. Lvs. broad-lanceolate ; fls. vjhite, oblong-tubular, pediceled ; 

 perianth in fruit rugous or mealy in appearance. — Grows in low grounds, in most 

 of the States. Root premorse. Scape 20 — 30' high, with remote scales or bracts, 

 and surrounded at base with a circle of lanceolate, sessile leaves. These are 3 — 4' 

 long, ^ as wide, and lie flat upon the ground. Flowers in a long, thin raceme. 

 Perianth white, ^' long, on very short pedicels, rugofc without, when old. Me- 

 dicinal. July. 



2 A. aurea Walt. Lvs. lanceolate ; fls. yellow, subsessile ; perianth short, tubular- 

 campanulate, finally rugous and very scabrous. — In the pine barrens of N. J. to 

 Pla., abundant. Scarcely different from the preceding except in color. Scape 

 2 — 3f high, with rather distant yellow flowera in the spicate raceme. Lvs. all 

 radical, 2 to 3' by 3 — t". Jl., Aug. 



Order CXLIII. IRIDACE^E. Irids. 



Serbs with corms, bubs or rhizomes, equitant, 2-ranked leaves and spathaceous 

 bracts. Perianth tube adherent to the ovary, segments in 2 sets, often unequal and 

 convolute in bud. Stamens 3, alternate with the petals, anthers extrorse. Style l r 

 stigmas 3, often petaloid. Capsule 3-valved, 3-celled, loculicidal. Seeds many, with 

 hard, fleshy albumen. Fig3. 76, 151, 425. 



Genera 52, species 550, chiefly natives of the Cape of Good Hope, or of the middle of Europe 

 •r N. America. 



Properties. — More remarkable for beauty than utijity. Some of them are cathartic, as Iris 

 tuberasa. The aromatic orris root is the dried rhizome of Irisflorentina of S. Europe. Saffron 

 •onsists of the dried orange-colored stigmas of Crocus sativus. 



GENERA. 



§ Flowers irregular, somewhat bilabiate, nodding. Gladiolus. T 



§ Flowers regular and equilateral, mostly erect. (*) 



* Sepals similar to the petals in form, size and position, (a) 



a Stamens distinct. Tube very long, partly under ground Crocus. 6 



a Stamens distinct. Tube short or none above the ovary Ixia. 5 



a Stamens monadelphous. Flowers small, blue. Plant grass-like... Sistrincuium. 4 



* Sepals larger than the petals and otherwise dissimilar, (b) 



b Stamens monadelphous. Petals spreading, panduriform Tigbidia. 3 



b Stamens distinct, — stigmas slender, on a slender style Nemastyus, 2 



—stigmas petaloid, on a very short style Iris. 1 



1. IRIS, L. Flowkr-de-Loce. (Name from the Greek, signifying 

 rainbow ; on account of the varied color of the flowers.) Sepals 3, 



