IRIS FAMILY 45 



1. H. hirsute Coville. STAR GRASS. Leaves longer than the scape, 

 both sparsely set with long, soft hairs. Scape 3-8 in. high. Flowers 

 1-4, about | in. across, yellow. Common in meadows and dry woods. 



12. IRIDACEJE. IRIS FAMILY 



Perennial herbs from bulbs, corms, or rootstocks. Leaves 

 2-ranked, equitant. Flowers bisexual, often actinomorphic, 

 each subtended by two bracts. Perianth 6-parted, the seg- 

 ments epigynous in 2 series of 3 each, equal, or the inner 

 ones smaller. Stamens 3, distinct or united, opposite the 

 outer segments. Ovary forming a 3-celled, 3-angled, 3-valved, 

 many-seeded, dehiscent capsule.* 



I. CROCUS L. 



Leaves springing from the corm. Flowers sessile on the 

 conn. Tube of the perianth very long and slender, its divi- 

 sions all alike or nearly so. Stigmas 3-cleft. 



1. C. vernus All. SPRING CROCUS. Leaves linear. Stigmas short. 

 Flowers white, blue, or purple. Our earliest garden flower. Culti- 

 vated from Europe. 



n. mis L. 



Rootstock thick, creeping, branching, horizontal, sometimes 

 tuberous. Stems erect, simple or branched. Leaves linear or 

 sword-shaped. Flowers showy, the outer perianth segments 

 spreading or recurved, often bearded within, the inner seg- 

 ments usually smaller and erect. Stamens inserted in the base 

 of the outer segments. Style deeply 3-parted (Fig. 8), the 

 divisions broad and petal-like, covering the stamens. Fruit an 

 oblong or oval, 3- or 6-angled, many-seeded capsule (Fig. 9).* 



1. I. versicolor L. LARGE BLUE FLAG. Rootstock thick, horizon- 

 tal. Stem cylindrical, smooth, simple or branched, leafy, 2-3 ft. high. 

 Leaves linear, sword-shaped, finely nerved, with a bloom, the lower 

 1 1-2 ft. long, the upper shorter. Bracts longer than the pedicels. 

 Flowers terminal, single or few together, blue variegated with white, 

 yellow, and purple ; perianth segments not bearded, the inner ones 

 smaller. Ovary 3-angled, longer than the inflated perianth tube. Cap- 

 sule oblong, slightly lobed ; seeds 2 rows in each cell. In wet places.* 



