ANGIOSPERM.E, MONOCOTYLEDONES. 



731 



Liliastrum, a beautiful alpine plant; Hemerocallis, the Day Lily; Phormium 

 tenax, the New Zealand Flax (fig. 414), the leaves of which yield a valuable 

 fibre; Kniphofia, whose dense spikes resemble a red-hot poker, cultivated in 

 gardens; the Aloes and their allies, chiefly African, with a permanent aerial 

 branch-system; finally, the Australian Grass-trees (of which Xanthorrhcea hastilis 

 is an example), often a conspicuous feature in the landscape, and with its long 

 spicate inflorescence sometimes attaining a height of 3 metres or more. This 

 plant yields a valuable gum. (3) Allioidece, usually bulbous, and having flowers 



Fig. 414. Phormium tenax, the New Zealand flax. 



in umbels. They include the Onion tribe (Allium, cf. fig. 311, p. 386), of which 

 A. cepa the Onion, A. porrum the Leek, A. ascalonicum the Shallot, A. sativum 

 the Garlic, A. sch&noprasum the Chive, and A. scorodoprasum the Rocambole, are 

 cultivated. Gagea (fig. 412 J ) also belongs to this group. (4) Lilioidece have 

 bulbs, anthers introrse, and loculicidal capsules. Styles generally united. They 

 include numerous familiar and beautiful plants: Lilium (45 species), Fritillaria (40 

 species), Erythronium the Dog-tooth Violet, Tulipa (50 species), Scilla, Hyacinthus, 

 Ornithogalum the Star of Bethlehem, Muscari, &c. (5) Draccenoidece is an 

 interesting tribe, as it includes the Yuccas and Dracaenas, which possess a per- 

 manent aerial system, which exhibits what is very exceptional amongst Monocoty- 

 ledons, a secondary thickening of the stem. Draccena Draco, the Dragon-tree of 



