LILIACEX. 2971 
Island, Derrynane, and on the coast of the mainland a little to the 
west of Derrynane, co. Kerry. 
England, Ireland. Perennial. Summer. 
Rootstock short, emitting numerous thick fleshy fibres, the leaves 
and stems enclosed within broad subscarious sheaths, the outermost of 
which are split into numerous bristly fibres. Leaves linear, flat, acute, 
and often heeled at the apex, 2 inches to 1 foot or more long. Scape 
6 to 18 inches high, irregularly dichotomously branched, so that the 
inflorescence forms a short panicle with corymbose branches. Bracts 
at the principal forks of the scape herbaceous; at the ultimates ones 
much smaller and scarious. Perianth leaves about 3 inch long, spread- 
ing, oblong-elliptical inclining to oblanceolate, with 5 or 7 strong 
ribs at the centre, white within, purple on the outside in the middle. 
Anthers yellow. Capsules about the size of sweet-pea seeds. Seeds 
2 in each cell, one above the other, semiglobose, half-obovate, black, 
shining, with an arillus at the base which is shrivelled when dry. 
Of this plant I have seen only dried specimens. 
Variegated Simethis. 
Trine [V.—NARTHECEZ. 
Perianth leaves cohering at the base. Seeds filiform, with a bristle- 
like appendage at each end. 
Herbs with slender creeping rhizomes emitting slender root-fibres. 
Leaves radical, ensiform-equitant, faleate, those on the stem bractlike. 
GENUS XVII—_—NARTHECIUM. Huds. 
Flowers perfect, not articulated to the pedicel. Perianth coloured, 
rotate; perianth leaves 6, free, spreading, at length connivent, per- 
sistent, the outer leaves herbaceous on the back. Stamens 6, the 3 
outer inserted in the base of the perianth segments; filaments woolly ; 
anthers affixed by the back a little above the base, extrorse. Style 
subulate; stigma entire. Capsule pyramidal, loculicidally 3-valved, 
3-celled, at least at the base, Seeds very numerous; testa slender, 
with a long appendage at each end. 
An herb with a creeping slender rootstock and equitant-ensiform 
falcate-recurved striate leaves, which are mostly radical. Stem 
scapelike, terminated by a raceme of yellow flowers. 
The only known species. 
The name of this genus is derived from the Greck word vapOjxtoy, a chest or case 
for ointments, in reference to its supposed virtues. 
