NAT. ORDER 



Iridece. 



GLADEOLUS TRISTIS. SaUARE-LEAVED CORN-FLAG. • 



Class III. Triandria. Order I. Monogynia. 



Gen. Char. Corolla, six-23arted. Stamens, ascending. Anthers, 



turned outwards. '•?' 



Spe. Char. Calyx and Corolla, superior. Stame?is, three. Stig- 



mas, five. Style, one. 



LiNN^us gave to this species of Gladeolus the name o£ tristis, 

 from the color of its flowers. The roof is long, knotty, white, and 

 fibrous ; the stalk is upright, square, bearded, and rises from three 

 to six feet in height ; the calyx and corolla are both superior, and 

 their divisions partly cohering, but are sometimes entirely separate, 

 and very ii-regular ; the petals are very short ; the stamens are 

 three, and arise from the base of the sepals ; ihe filaments are dis- 

 tinct or cornate ; anthers bursting externally, lengthwise, fixed by 

 their base, and two-celled ; the ovariuvi is three-celled, and the 

 cells many-seeded ; sttjle, one ; the stigmas are five in number, 

 which are often petaoloid, and sometimes two-lipped ; the capsule 

 is three-celled, three-valved, with a loculicidal dehiscence ; the 

 seeds are attached to the inner angle of the cell, or to a central 

 column, which becomes loose ; the albumen is corneous, or densely 

 fleshy ; the emhryo is enclosed within it. It flowers in April and 

 May, and gives forth a most agreeable fragrance. This sjjecies is 

 a native of the Cape of Good Hope, and other parts of Africa, 

 but is cultivated in many parts of England. 



The leaves, which so characteristically distinguish this spe- 

 cies, are highly deserving of notice. Instances of such rarely oc- 

 cur, as the bulbs produce numerous offsets, and the plant is pro- 



Vol.U.— ici. 



V 



