uudacea:. (iuis family.) 613 



roup^lieiieil perianth; the deliiscence, seeds, etc., noarly as in Lophiola. — Te- 

 ienni;il and sni(»i)th steniless herhs, very bitter, with til)r()us ro<jts, and a spread- 

 ing cluster of thin and Hat lanceolate leaves; the small (lowers in a wand-like 

 spiked raceme, terminating a naked slender scape (2-3° higii). Bracts awl- 

 shaped, minute. ('AAfxp^j, a female slave who grintls corn ; the name applied 

 to these plants in allusion to the ajjparent mealiness dusted over the hlossoms.) 



1. A. farinosa, L. Flowers oblong-tuhular, white; lobes lanceolato- 

 oblong. — Grassy or sandy woods, Mass. to Jbla., 111., and Minn. July, Aug. 



2. A. aiirea, Walt. Flowers bell-shaped, yellow (fewer and shorter) ; 

 lobes short-ovate. — Barrens, N. J. to Fla. July. 



Order 113. IRIDACE^E. (Iris Family.) 



Herbs, with equitant 2-ranked leaves, and regular or irregular perfect 

 Jloicers ; the divisions of the (i-cleft petal-like perianth convolute in the bud 

 in 2 sets, the tube coherent with the 'S-celled ovary, and 3 distinct or mona- 

 delphous stamens, alternate with the inner divisions of the perianth, with 

 extrorse anthers. — Flowers from a spathe of 2 or more leaves or bracts, 

 usually showy. Style single, usually 3-cleft; stigmas 3, opposite the 

 cells of the ovary, or 6 by the parting of the stylo-branches. Capsule 

 3-celled, loculicidal, niany-feeded. Seeds anatropous ; embryo straight 

 in fleshy albumen. Root stocks, tubers, or corms mostly acrid. 



* Branches of the style (or stigmas) opposite the anthers. 



1. Iris. Onter divisions of the x)erianth recurved, tlie inner erect ; stigmas petal-like. 



• * Branches of the style alternate with the anthers. Perianth regular. 



2. Nemastylis. Stem from a coated bulb. Filaments united. Style-branches 2-cleft. 



3. Belaincanda. Stems from a creeping rhizome. Filaments distinct. Stigmas dilated. 



4. Sisyrinchium. Root fibrous. Filaments united. Stigmas tlircad-like. 



1. IBIS, Tourn. Flo\ver-de-Luce. 



Perianth 6-cleft ; the tube more or less prolonged beyond the ovary ; the 3 

 outer divisions spreading or reflexed, the 3 inner smaller, erect. Stamens 

 distinct; the oblong or linear anthers sheltered under the overarching petal- 

 like stigmas (or rather branches of the style, bearing the true stigma iu the 

 form of a thin lip or plate under the apex) ; most of the style connate with 

 the tube of the perianth. Capsule 3- G-aiigled, coriaceous. Seeds depressed- 

 flattened, usually in 2 rows in each cell. — Perennials, with sword-shaped or 

 grassy leaves, and large showy flowers; ours with creo])ing and more or less 

 tuberous rootstocks. flpis, the rainhoic, anciently applied to this genus on 

 account of its bright and varied colors.) 



* Stems leaf I and rather tall (1-3° high), from thickened rootstocks, often 

 branch i 71 g ; tube of the perianth shorter than the divisions, ivhich are beardless 

 arid crestless, the erect inner ones (petals) much smaller than the outer. 

 H- Floivers violet-blue, variegated ivith green, i/elioic or white, and purple-veined. 



1. I. versicolor, L. (Larger Blie Flag.) Stem stout, angled on 

 one side; leaves sword-shaped (f wide); ovary obtusely triangular with the 

 sides fiat; flowers (2^-3' long) short-peduncled, the funnel-forra tube shorter 



33 



