NAT. ORDER 



Iridece. 



IRIS PUMILA. DWARF IRIS. 



Class III. Triandria. Order I. Monogynia. 



Gen. Char. Corolla, six-parted, incomplete. Segments, three, re- 

 flexed, the others erect or connivent. Style, short. Stigmas, 

 three, petaloid, covering the stamens. Capsules, three-celled, 

 many-seeded. 



8pe. Char. Flowers, beardless. Ste?n, terete, more or less flexu- 

 ous. Germen, somewhat triangular. Leaves, ensiform. 



This genus is distinguished by having a six-parted flower, 

 every other division of which is reflected, or rolled backward ; 

 the root is somewhat bulbous, fleshy, of a dark purple or chestnut 

 color, and from which proceed several succulent fibrous branches; 

 the stem rises from two and a half to four feet in height, and ter- 

 minates with a single flower; the leaves are sword-shaped, radicle, 

 inserted in each other, pointed, somewhat shorter than the stem, 

 and of a dark, dull green color ; \heJlowers are large, upright, of 

 a beautiful purple-scarlet color, and lower petals striped with a 

 bluish tinge ; the calyx is a spathe of two valves ; the corolla di- 

 vides into six segments, or petals, three of which stand erect ; the 

 other three., which are of an irregular oval shape, turn back and 

 downward ; \\\e Jilaments are three, and crowned with long yellow 

 anthers ; the style is short and simple ; the stigma separates into 

 three expanded segments, resembling petals, which arch over the 

 stamens ; the germen is rather long, of an obtusely triangular 

 shape, and placed below the corolla ; the capsule has three cavi- 

 ties, and contains a large number of flat brown seeds. 



VoLiii.— 41. 



