IXIACEAE 305 



3-5 cm. long : perianth bine, 4-5 cm. broad, fugacious : sepals obovate, with white and 

 violet-spotted claws : petals oblanceolate, acute : filament-tube 4 mm. long, blue : capsules 

 oblong-cavate, 2-2.5 cm. long. 



On prairies, Texas. Spring. 



2. Herbertia Watsonii Baker. Stems 1-2 dm. tall : leaves mainly basal, usually 

 1-2 ; blades sheathing at the base : spathe about 3 cm. long : perianth purple, about 5 cm. 

 broad : sepals oblance.olate, about 2.5 cm. long : petals obovate, 6 mm. long : filaments 

 united nearly to the top, 6 mm. long. 



On damp prairies, Texas. Spring. 



6. IRIS L. 



Herbs, with creeping or horizontal, sometimes tuber-bearing rootstocks. Leaves equi- 

 tant : blades sword-shaped. Flowers solitary or in terminal panicles. Perianth more or 

 less highly colored, usually showy : tube narrow below : lobes various, the 3 outer dilated, 

 spreading or recurved, the 3 inner smaller, often erect, sometimes nearly as large as the 

 outer. Stamens 3 : filaments adnate to the bases of the outer perianth-lobes : anthers nar- 

 row. Ovary 3-celled : styles petal-like, arching over the stamens, adnate to the ovary at 

 the base : stigmas under the usually two-lobed style-tips. Ovules numerous. Capsule 

 somewhat elongated, 3-6-angled or 3-6-lobed. Seeds in 1 or 2 rows in each cavity, verti- 

 cally flattened. FLAG. BLUE FLAG. FLEUR-DE-LIS. 



Stems usually less than 1 dm. tall, covered by the leaves : outer and inner perianth-lobes nearly equal. 

 Leaves linear : outer perianth-lobes crestless : angles of capsule obtuse. 1. L verna. 



Leaves more or less broadened near the middle : outer perianth-lobes crested : 



angles of capsule acute. 2. L cristata. 



Stems usually over 3 dm. tall, leafy : outer perianth-lobes larger than the inner. 



Perianth reddish brown or red. 3. Lfulva. 



Perianth blue or lilac variegated with white, green or yellow or rarely white. 

 Leaves less than 1 cm. broad. 



Flower usually solitary : blades of outer perianth-lobes suborbicular or 



ovate, blue variegated with yellow and purple. 4. /. tripetala. 



Flowers usually several : blades of outer perianth-lobes cuneate or obo- 

 vate, blue variegated with white. 5. I. prismatica. 

 Leaves more than 1 cm. broad. 



Seeds in 1 row in each cavity. 6. I. Caroliniana. 



Seeds in 2 rows in each cavity. 



Flowers and capsules pedicelled. 7. I. versicolor. 



Flowers and capsules sessile or nearly so. 8. /. hexagona. 



1. Iris v6ma L. Kootstocks creeping. Foliage bright green : leaves overtopping 

 the flowers ; blades linear, in age elongating to 3-4 dm. and becoming grass-like, attenuate : 

 perianth violet-blue or rarely white, violet-scented ; tube barely as long as the bracts ; lobes 

 spatulate or cuneate-obovate, crestless, about as long as the slender tube : capsules prismatic, 

 12-15 mm. long, 3-angled, the angles obtuse. 



In open woods and on dry slopes, Pennsylvania to southern Georgia, Kentucky and Alabama. 

 Spring. VIOLET IRIS. 



2. Iris cristata Ait. Rootstocks creeping, slender. Foliage bright green : leaves 

 (longer ones) overtopping the flowers ; blades linear or usually broadest about the middle, 

 more or less curved, acuminate : scapes somewhat flattened, bearing 1 or 3 flowers : peri- 

 anth bright or pale blue ; tube surpassing the bracts ; lobes spreading, obovate or spatulate, 

 the outer ones crested, longer than the inner, much shorter than the nearly filiform tube : 

 capsules oblong-oval, 15-18 mm. long, 3-angled, the angles acute. 



On banks or hillsides in open woods, Maryland to Ohio, Missouri, Georgia and Tennessee. Spring. 

 CRESTED IRIS. 



3. Iris fiilva Ker. Rootstocks stout. Foliage pale-green or glaucescent : sterns erect, 

 3-9 dm. tall, simple or branched, 1-angled below : leaves rarely overtopping the stem ; 

 blades narrowly-linear, sword-shaped : flowers solitary or 2 together : perianth reddish 

 brown or red variegated with blue or green ; tube surpassed by the bracts ; lobes crest- 

 less, 3-5 cm. long ; blades oblong to ovate-oblong, glabrous : appendages of the stigmas 

 toothed : capsules oblong, 2.5-3 cm. -long, obtusely 6-angled. [J. cuprea Pursh.] 



In swamps, Kentucky to Illinois, Missouri, Georgia and Texas. Spring. 



4. Iris trip6tala Walt. Rootstocks horizontal. Foliage glaucous : stems 3-7 dm. tall, 

 simple or nearly so, rather slender : leaves shorter than the stem ; blades narrowly linear, 

 less than 1 cm. broad : flower usually solitary : perianth blue, variegated with yellow and 

 purple ; tube about as long as the bracts ; lobes various, crestless, the inner cuneate, short, 

 the outer showy ; blades ovate or suborbicular, 3-4 cm. long, narrowed into claws of nearly 



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