516 MELANTHACE^;. (COLCHICUM FAMILY.) 



2 Z. leimanthoides, Gray. Stem slender, somewhat naked above; 

 leaves narrowly linear, green on both sides; panicle slender; bracts lanceo- 

 late ; leaves of the perianth oval or obovate, sessile, the glands obscure or 

 wanting; stamens and styles filiform ; seeds narrowly margined, winged at 

 the apex. Low banks in the upper districts. July - August. Stem 2 -4 

 liigli. Lowest leaves l-2 long. Panicle 8'- 12' long. Flowers 4" iu di- 

 ameter, much shorter than the slender pedicels. 



6. STENANTHIUM, Gray. 



Flowers perfect or polygamous. Leaves of the perianth lanceolate, acumi- 

 nate, united at the base, and aduate to the base of the ovary, longer than the 

 stamens. Glands none. Anthers roundish, becoming peltate. Styles short, 

 subulate : stigmas minute. Capsule ovate, membranaceous, septicidal at the 

 apex, several-seeded. Seeds nearly wingless. Stem smooth, slender, tumid 

 at the base. Lowest leaves elongated, channelled. Flowers small, greenish 

 white, in a simple panicle. 



1. S. angUStifolium, Gray. Stem 2-3 high; lowest leaves l-2 

 long; panicle l-2loug, composed of simple spiked racemes; tbe lower 

 flowers often sterile ; perianth about 4" in diameter, nearly sessile, twice as 

 long as the stamens. Shady woods in the upper districts. June- Julv. 



2. S. robustum, Watson. Stem stout, leafy, 3 -5 high; leaves 4" - 

 10" broad; panicle large, often compound ; segments of the perianth 3"- 4" 

 lonir ; capsule erect, with a recurved beak, 4" long. South Carolina and 

 Tennessee ( Watson). 



7. VERATRUM, Tourn. FALSE HELLEBORE. 



Flowers polygamous. Leaves of the perianth spreading, distinct, oblong or 

 obovate, narrowed at the base, free from the ovary, glandless, longer than the 

 stamens. Stvles short, subulate. Capsule oblong, membranaceous, 3-poiuted, 

 the cells opening above at the inner suture. Seeds few, flat, broadly winged. 

 Stems leafy, tumid at the base, pubescent. Leaves oval or oblong, plaited. 

 Flowers in ample panicles, green or purplish brown. 



1. V". viride, L. Stem stout, leafy throughout; leaves broadly oval, 

 acute, clasping, pubescent beneath ; panicle pyramidal, composed of numerous 

 dense racemes ; divisions of the perianth oblong, smooth, yellowish green. - 

 Mountain meadows, Georgia, and northward. April -May. Stem 3 -? 3 

 high. Lower leaves I" long. Flowers large. 



2. V. intermedium, Chapm. Stem slender, leafy ; lowest leaves lance- 

 olate or oblong, acute, narrowed into a long sheathing petiole, the upper small, 

 lanceolate, scattered, pubescent beneath ; panicle large, composed of long and 

 slender loosely-flowered racemes ; leaves of the perianth spatulate-oblong, dark 

 brown within, hoary puberulent without; ovary woolly; capsule 3-winged; 

 seeds linear-oblong, broadly winged. Rich shady hummocks, Middle Florida. 

 July. Stem 3- 5 high. Lower leaves 1 long. Flowers 6"- 8" wide. 



3. V. parviflorum, Michx. Stem slender, naked above : loaves vary- 

 ing from lanceolate to oval, smooth, narrowed into sheathing pi-tinlcs ; panicle 



