ANGIOSPERM^, MONOCOTFLEDONES. 



7;u 



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

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

 fibre; Kniphojia, 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 Xanthorrhoea 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) Allioideoe, usually bulbous, and having flowers 



.-^tf^ 



Fig 414 — Phonnuun tenax the New /e ilind fl ix. 



j in umbels. They include the Onion tribe {Allium, cf. fig. 311, p. 3S6), of which 

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

 the Garlic, A. schoenoprasum the Chive, and A. scorodoprasum the Rocambole, are 



j cultivated. Qagea (fig. 412 ^) also belongs to this group. (4) Lilioidece have 

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



I include numerous familiar and beautiful plants: Lilium (45 s-pecies), Fritillaria (40 

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

 Ornithogalum, the Star of Bethlehem, Muscari, &c. (5) Dracccnoidece 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. Dracaena Draco, the Dragon-tree of 



