428 Key to the System of 



WURnXBXSA. 



1835. Sepals and petals almost or entirely disconnected. 



Always dwarf and branchless; leaves two or three, filiform- 

 linear, but unless the lowest excepted towards the 

 clasping base dilated, the floral one sometimes bract-like 

 shortened ; flowers quite small, bractless, occasionally 

 bisexual ; sepals and petals persistent, from narrow- to 

 ovate-elliptical, usually white, often with a reddish tinge 

 and spotted across by a dark -purplish doubly glandular 

 line below the middle ; stamens short ; styles dis- 

 connected ; fruit from globular to ovate, somewhat 

 trigonous ; seeds many, brown, turgid-ovate or almost 

 globular. Figure 118. W. dioica. 



ASTELIA. 



1836. Stem always much exceeded by the basal leaves, often 



quite abbreviated. 



Bather dwarf and truly alpine, forming ample patches ; 

 silk-like vestiture extensive and copious ; basal leaves 

 from linear to elongate-lanceolar, rather crowded ; stem- 

 leaves only near the flowers and much shortened ; panicle 

 short, that of the pistillate flowers almost condensed into 

 a cluster ; flowers small ; sepals and petals persistent, 

 generally narrow-lanceolar ; style obliterated ; stigmas 

 very short; fruit almost ellipsoid-ovate, red outside; seeds 

 several, shining-black, somewhat angular. A. alpiiia. 



XEROTES. 



1837. Flowers in whorls or clusters ... ... ... 1838 



Flowers scattered ... ... ... ... ... 1841 



1838. Staminate flowers in simple whorls. 



Often rather tall ; leaves flat or channelled, blunt, longer 

 than the stem ; panicle occasionally reduced to a raceme ; 

 branches of the panicle whorled ; bracts very short ; 

 sepals and petals equal in height ; staminate calyx very 

 gradually narrowed into a capillary conspicuous stalklet, 

 somewhat purplish outside ; pistillate calyx almost sessile ; 

 petals yellowish ; fruit wrinkled ; seeds trigonous-ovate. 



X. Browuii. 



All flowers in clusters ... ... ... ... 1839 



