250 MELANTHACEAE 



late to lanceolate or linear, few : racemes spike-like ; staminate usually continuous, 5-20 

 cm. long, its tip nodding ; pistillate stiff, interrupted, longer than the staminate : pedicels 

 1-5 mm. long: perianth (staminate) white: sepals and petals narrowly linear : capsules 

 oblong-ovoid or oblong, 7-10 ram. long. 



In open woods, Massachusetts to Ontario, Michigan, Florida and Arkansas. Spring and summer. 



2. Chamaelirium obovale Small. Stems 6-11 dm. tall, leafy at the base and near 

 the middle, somewhat zigzag : leaves various ; basal with spatulate blades ; cauline shorter, 

 4-15 cm. long, with, oblanceolate to lanceolate or linear, acute or acuminate blades, erect or 

 ascending : flowers manifestly larger than those of C. liiteum : capsules obovoid or oblong- 

 obovoid, 12-14 mm. long, on stout club-shaped pedicels fully as long as the capsules or 

 slightly shorter. 



In open woods, New York to West Virginia and North Carolina. Spring. 



6. SCHOENOCAULON A. Gray. 



Scapose herbs, with fibrous-coated bulbs. Leaves basal : blades slender, elongated, 

 channeled, firm. Scapes upright, simple. Flowers inconspicuous, in slender spikes or 

 spike-like racemes. Bracts small. Perianth green, persistent : sepals and petals 6, narrow, 

 nearly equal, distinct, glandless. Stamens 6, hypogynous, surpassing the perianth : fila- 

 ments elongating : anthers reniform, becoming peltate. Ovary 3-celled : styles very short. 

 Ovules 4-8 in each cavity. Capsule 3-celled, septicidally separating into 3 carpels. Seeds 

 often solitary in each cavity, slender, nearly terete. 



Compact portion of the spike 5 mm. thick : sepals oblong: capsules sessile. 1. S. dubium. 



Compact portion of the raceme 10 mm. thick : sepals linear: capsules pedicelled. 2. S. Drummondii. 



1. Schoenocaulon dubium (Michx. ) Small. Leaf-blades narrowly linear, 1-6 dm. 

 long, involute : scapes slender, 3-9 dm. tall : spikes slender, interrupted, 10-30 cm. long : 

 perianth greenish : sepals and petals oblong, 2-2.5 mm. long, leathery, obtuse, glabrous : 

 filaments filiform : capsules conic, 8-10 mm. long. [ gracile A. Gray.] 



In dry pine lands, Georgia and Florida. Spring. 



2. Schoenocaulon Drummondii A. Gray. Leaf-blades narrowly linear, 2-7 dm. 

 long, curved, involute : scapes 3-9 mm. tall : racemes spike-like, 5-15 cm. long, be- 

 coming interrupted : perianth green : sepals and petals narrowly linear, 2-3 mm. long, 

 obtuse, inflexed at the apex : filaments clavate : capsules conic-ovoid, 10-12 mm. long. 



On prairies, Texas and adjacent Mexico. Spring and summer. 



7. CHROSPERMA Kaf. 



Glabrous caulescent herbs, with bulb-like rootstocks. Leaves numerous at the base 

 of the stem : blades elongated, spreading, those of the stem much shorter and fewer. 

 Flowers perfect. Racemes thick, cylindric. Perianth white : sepals and petals broad, 

 glandless. Stamens 6 : filaments subulate, acute, shorter than the sepals and petals : an- 

 thers 2-celled, broader than long. Ovary 3-celled, the carpels united to below the middle. 

 Ovules few in each cavity. Capsule conspicuously 3-lobed, each carpel tipped with the 

 spreading subulate style-base. Seeds 1-2 in each cavity, thick, reddish brown. 



1. Chrosperma muscaetdxicum (Walt.) Kuntze. Foliage somewhat glaucous. 

 Stems 3-12 dm. tall, nearly leafless : leaf-blades linear, strap-like, 3-6 dm. long, spread- 

 ing ; stem-leaves few, narrow ; racemes cylindric, 5-15 cm. long, 3-6 cm. thick, continu- 

 ous : pedicels spreading or ascending, 1-2 cm. long, slightly thickened upward : perianth 

 white, 8-10 mm. broad : sepals suborbicular : petals slightly broadened above the middle : 

 capsules broader than high, the carpels 4-6 mm. long, plump. [Amianthium muscaetoxicnm 

 (Walt.) A. Gray.] 



In sandy woods, Long Island to Tennessee, Florida and Arkansas. Spring and summer. FLY- 

 POISON. CROW-POISON. 



8. TRACYANTHUS Small. 



Glabrous caulescent herbs, with bulb-like rootstocks. Leaves alternate, mainly basal^ 

 few, the outer ones mere sheathing scales : blades very narrow and elongated, those of the 

 stem successively shorter and scale-like below the inflorescence. Flowers perfect, in ter- 

 minal simple racemes. Perianth white : sepals and petals broadened upward, glandless. 

 Stamens 6 : filaments filiform, truncate, longer than the sepals and petals : anthers 2-celled. 



