DIOSCOREACE.*:. (YAM FAMILY.) 501 



2. SISYRINCHIUM, L. BLUE-EYED GRASS. 



Perianth corolla-like, 6-parted, the divisions nearly equal, spreading. Sta- 

 mens 3, monadelplious : anthers sagittate. Style short : stigmas 3, simple, 

 filiform and involute. Capsule and se/)ds roundish. Grass-like herbs, with 

 fibrous roots, and scape-like 2-edged stems. Flowers small, in an umbellate 

 cluster, successively developed from a rigid 2-leaved spathe. Perianth blue, 

 with a yellow centre. 



1. S. anceps, Cav. Stem branching and leafy above. 10' -15' high; 

 spathes two or more, long-peduncled, its leaves nearly equal. Damp soil, 

 Florida, and northward. July - Sept. 



2. S. angUStifolium, Mill. Stem simple, leafless, 6'- 12' high ; spathe 

 solitary, terminal, sessile, its leaves very unequal ; flowers and fruit larger. 

 Mostly in dry soil in the upper districts. June - August. 



3. NEMASTYLIS, Xutt. 



Perianth 6-parted, the divisions nearly equal and spreading. Stamens 3, 

 distinct, with the subulate filaments much shorter than the elongated linear 

 anthers. Style short, 3-lobed, Avith the lobes 2-parted, each division produced 

 into filiform radiating stigmas. Capsule oblong, truncated. Herbs Avitli 

 coated bulbous roots, linear plicate leaves, and very fugacious flowers from a 

 2-leaved spathe. 



1. N. COSlestina, Nutt. Bulb small, roundish; radical leaves feAv, 

 elongated, sheathing; those of the stem diminishing upward, the uppermost 

 bract-like; flo\vers mostly solitary, terminal ; divisions of the perianth oblong- 

 obovate; capsule obtusely 3-angled ; seeds angular, brown. Pine barrens, 

 Florida, and westAvard. May -June. Stem l|-2high. FloAvers bright 

 blue. 



The BLACKBERRY-LILY of the gardens (BALAMCAXDA, Adans.) is occasion- 

 ally seen spontaneous along roads and in Avaste ground. 



ORDER 150. DIOSCOREACEJE. (YAM FAMILY.) 



Twining herbs, with tuberous roots, ribbed and reticulated leaves, 

 and small regular dioecious flowers, in axillary spikes or panicles. - 

 Perianth 6-parted, the tube (in the fertile flower) adherent to the 3- 

 celled ovary. Stamens 6 : anthers 2-celled, introrse. Ovules anat.ro- 

 pous, 1-2 in each cell. Styles 3, more or less united below. Fruit 

 mostly capsular, 3-6-seeded. Embryo minute, in hard albumen. 



1. DIOSCOREA, Plum. YAM. 



Tube of the perianth 3-Avinged. Stamens inserted at the base of the limb. 

 Capsule 6-seeded, membranaceous, 3-winged, opening septicidally through the 

 Avings. Seeds flat, broadly Avinged. Leaves petioled, mostly cordate and en- 

 tire. Petiol.es tumid at the base. 



