204 THE STORY OF PLANT LIFE 
wards united. There are three stamens which spring 
from the base of the sepals, and have broad, flattened, 
filaments and long anthers, which divide like an 
arrowhead above, with two longitudinal grooves 
opening outwards. The style is trifid as a rule, and 
frequently petaloid, and there are three stigmas. 
The capsule is three-celled and the seeds numerous, 
in three valves. 
In this group beside Iris and Crocus comes 
Gladiolus, of which G. illyricus is found in the New 
Forest, but it is becoming very scarce. 
The garden forms are showy plants, and Ixia also 
is a favourite garden plant. Orris root is yielded by 
a species of Iris and the roots of others are eaten. 
YELLOW F Lac (Iris Pseudacorus). 
This handsome wild Iris is found in most districts 
where there are suitable moist conditions, being 
known in every county in Great Britain. 
It forms a regular member of the aquatic vegetation 
of low-lying districts. It grows at the margin with 
the lower part of the stem and leaves submerged, 
deeply rooted in the mud a little further out than the 
fringing zone of sedges which lines each piece of 
water where aquatic vegetation is well established. 
It is to be found in ponds, pools and lakes, as well 
as in running water, in streams and rivers. It may 
also be found in marshy tracts which area transition 
between aquatic and terrestrial vegetation. 
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