LILIACK.K. (lily FAMILY.) 533 



the sliixbtly lohprl sessile stigma, loculiiidal, many-seeded. Seeds ascending, 

 ai>|KMi(lagi'il at each end with a long hristlc-form tail. — Kuotstock creeping, 

 bearing linear equitant leaves, and a simple stem or scape, terminated bv a 

 simple dense bracteate raceme ; ])0(licels bearing a linear bractlet. (Name an 

 anagram of Authrrimin, from avdipiKos, su])posed to have been the Asphodel.) 

 1. N. Americ^num, Kcr. Stem 1° high or more; leaves V wide, 

 7 - '.i-nerved ; raceme dense (1-2' long); perianth-segments uarrowlv linear 

 {•1-'1\" long), scarcely exceeding the stamens. (N. ossifragnm, var. Ameri^ 

 canum, tirui/.) — Sandy bogs, piiie-l)arrens of N. J. Jnne, July. 



29. MELANTHIUM, Linn. 



P'lowers monoeciously polygamous. I'erianth tif G separate and free widely 

 s|)readiugs(jmewhat heart-shaped or oblong and halberd shaj)ed or oblanceolate 

 sepals, raised on slender claws, cream-colored or greenish, the l>ase marked with 

 2 appro.ximate or confluent glands, or glandle.ss, turning greenish brown and 

 persistent. Filaments shorter than the sej)als, ailliering to their claws often to 

 near the summit, persistent. Anthers heart-shaped or kidney -shaped, conflu- 

 ently 1-celled, shield-shaped after opening, e.xtrorse. Styles 3, awl-shaped, 

 diverging, tijjjted with siin])le stigmas. Capsule ovoid-c(»nical, 3-lobed, of 3 

 inflated membranaceous car])els united in the axis, separating when ripe, and 

 splittiiig down the inner edge, .several-seeded. Seeds flat, broadly winged. — 

 Stems tall and leafy, from a thick rootstock, rougliish-downy above, as well as 

 the open and ample pyramidal panicle (composed chiefly of simple racemes), 

 the terminal part mostly fertile. Leaves linear to oblanceolate or oval, not 

 plaited. (Name composed of jueAas, hUirk-, and &v6os,_/^oirer, from the darker 

 color which the persistent perianth assumes after blo.ssoming.) 



* Sepals with a conspicuous doulle (jlaud at (he summit of the claw. 



L M. Virginicum, L. (BrNcii-FLOWEH.) Stem 3-5° high, leafy, 

 rather slender; leaves linear (4-10" wide); sepals flat, ovate to oblong or 

 sliglitly hastate (2^-4" long) ; capsule 6" long; seeds 10 in each cell, 2-3" 

 long. — "Wet meadows, N. Eng. to N. C, west to Minn, and Tex. 



2. M. Iatif61ium, Desrouss. Leaves more oblanceolate, often 2' broad ; . 

 sepals undulate (2 - 3" long), the very narrow claw nearly equalling the orbicu- 

 lar or ovate blade ; capsule 6 - 8" long ; styles more slender ; seeds 4 - 8 iu each 

 cell, 3-4" long. (^L racemosum, Michx.) — W. Conn, to S. C. 



* * Sepals oblanceolate, without glands. 



3. M. parviflorum, AVat.son. Stem rather ."lender (2-.')° high), spar- 

 ingly leafy, nak(Ml above; leaves oval to oblanceolate (2-4' wide), on long 

 petioles; sepals 2-3" long, oblanceolate or spatulate, those of the sterile fl(»w- 

 ers on claws ; .stamens very short ; capsule fi" long ; seeds 4 - in each cell, 4" 

 long. (Veratrum jiarviflorum, Michx.) — In the .Mlcgbanies, \'a. to S. C 



30. VERATRUM, Touin. Falsi- IlKi.i.KnouK. 



Flowers mon<eciously j)olygamous. Perianth of 6 spreading and .sejiarate 

 obovate-oblong (greenish or brownish) }»epals, more or less contracted at the 

 base (but not clawed), nearly free from the ovary, not gland-bearing. Fila- 

 ments free from the sepals and shorter than they, recurving. Anthers, pistils, 



