2 54 Plants and their Ways in South Africa 



and greenish. Honey glan<^s in the flowers attract insects. 

 The flowers may be arranged in umbels/ spikes, racemes, or 

 panicles. One of the largest orders of flowering plants ; 200 

 genera, 2500 species. Cosmopolitan. 



Series I. — Fruit a berry. Anthers opening toward the pistil. (Introrse.) 

 Smilax. — Stems woody, climbing. Leaves normal, net-veined. 



Flowers dicecious. 



Asparagus. — Stems generally woody, climbing or erect. Leaves 



small, bract-like, with one or several leaf-like branches in their axils. 



Series IL — Fruit a capsule. Anthers versatile, opening toward 

 the pistil. (Introrse.) 

 A. Rootstock not bulbous. Perianth loljes united. 

 B. Flowers in racemes. 



Kniphofia. — Leaves not fleshy. Perianth tube long. 

 Aloe. — Leaves fleshy. Perianth tube short, with conniving 

 segments. 

 BB. Flowers in umbels. 



Agapanthus. — Flowers blue or white ; corona wanting. 

 Tulbaghia. — Flowers greenish- or purple-brown ; corona 

 present. 

 AA. Rootstock not bulbous. Perianth tube cut down to the base. 

 Anthers swinging (versatile). 

 Bulbinella. — Flowers yellow or white. Filaments smooth. 

 Bulbine. — Flowers yellow. Filaments bearded. Ovules 

 more than two in a cell. 

 AAA. Rootstock bulbous or tuberous. Flowers in racemes or spikes. 

 B. Perianth cut down to the base. 



Bowiea. — Rootstock a partly underground corm. Stem 



climbing. Leaves small, soon falling. 

 Eriospermum. — Rootstock tuberous. Stem erect, usually 



with solitary leaf, after flowering. Seeds woolly. 

 Albuca. — Rootstock bulbous. Petals conniving but not 



united. Seeds flattened, crowded, 

 Eucomis. — Seeds not crowded. Raceme crowned by a 



rosette of leafy bracts. 

 Ornithogalum. — Perianth lobes spreading. Raceme not 

 crowned with bracts. Flowers never blue. 

 BB. Perianth lobes slightly united at base. The outer sometimes 

 free. 

 Lachenalia. — Perianth cylindrical. Outer segments usually 

 shorter. 



1 The apparent umbels are really cymose. When the inflorescence 

 is racemose the flowers have no bracteoles. 



