1. JuNCus.] 144. JUNCACE.E. 



In wet places. Bens:al, J.D.E. (without district) ! Piirneah (Kissenganj), 

 J.JD.H. ! Santal Parg., Kurz ! Gangpur, Praia's Collector ! Fl. May. Perennial. 



Rootstock very short. Stems sometimes decumbent and rooting at the nodes. 

 Leaves 2-10", shorter than the stem, sometimes fihform, but attaining -12" in 

 width. Lower bract of cyme erect foliaceous, shorter than cyme, floral bracts 

 hyaline, lanceolate acuminate. St. very shoit. Seeds minute, apiculate, testa 

 appressed reticulate. 



FAM. 155. LILIACEiE. 



Mostly perennial herbs wdth underground rootstock or bulb, some- 

 times climbing, more rarely suffruticose or shrubs or trees with a 

 secondary growth in thickness. Leaves various, cauline or radical, 

 sometimes reduced to scales wdth their function assumed by leaf -like 

 cladodes {Asparagus), sometimes fleshy, usually parallel- veined. 

 Flowers 2-sexual, rarely 1 -sexual by abortion, regular, rarely some- 

 what irregular, axillary or in a terminal scape which is 1-2-fld. or 

 sometimes umbellate, spicate, racemose or panicled. Bracts various 

 (rarely spathiform under an umbel as in so many Amarjdlidaceae). 

 Perianth inferior and free fi'om the ovary, petaloid, often marcescent, 

 tepals combined into a tube at the base or free, in 2 series of 3 each, 

 both series similar or very slightly different, occasionally tepals 4, 

 8 or many, slightly imbricate or outer valvate. .Stamens most usually 

 6 hypogynous or on the perianth opposite the lobes, filaments free 

 or connate, anthers variously affixed to the filaments with usually 

 2 longitudinally dehiscent cells rarely with terminal pore. Ovary 

 superior, 3-celled with axile placentation, occasionally 1 -celled ^^ith 

 parietal placentation, rareLy 2- or 4-merous with 2- or 4-merous 

 perianth, style and stigmas various. Ovules in each cell 2 collateral 

 or many 2-seriately superposed, rarely solitary or numerous and 

 irregular, anatropous, hemianatropous or in a few genera orthotropous. 

 Fruit baccate or septicidally or loculicidally capsular or rarely irre- 

 ^Tularly rupturing. Seeds with copious albumen. Embryo minute 

 globose or elongate, sometimes much shorter than the albumen, 

 straight or slightly curved, radicular end near or remote from the 

 hilum. 



I. Arboreous, slmibby suffruticose or climbhig or if erect 

 and herbaceous, then flowers irregularly panicled. Eoot- 

 stock never bulbous. Fls. never in involucrate umbels 

 or solitary (exc. Gloriosa and then stem elongate climb- 

 ing) :— 



A. Fls. very small, often umbelled. Stems branched often 



prickly, usually scandent and suffruticose. L. not 

 elongate : — 



L. 3-9-costate, reticulate-nerved between. Fl. um- 

 belled . . . . . . . .1. Smilax. 



L. scale-like with acicular cladodes in their axils. 

 Fls. mostly racemose . . . . . .2. Asparagus. 



B. Fls. large or mod.-sized. L. usually elongate or 



fleshy. Stem not scandent (exc. Gloriosa) : — 

 1. Woody plants or with tliick fleshy leaves densely 

 clustered and often spinose. Fls. racemose. 

 Anthers introrse : — 

 a. Ovule 1 in each cell (Sanseviera is usually placed 

 in Htemodoracese) : — 

 Stem slender elongate (in our species). Perianth 

 funnel-shaped or narrow-campanulate. Berry 

 3-1-celled, pericarp persistent . . .3. Draccena. 



1084 



i 



