MONOCOTYLES. 75 



incurved. Style filiform, stigma simple. Fruit 

 a single oblong seed covered by the marcescent 

 6 ribbed perigone, perisperm farinaceous, em- 

 bryo fleshy central terete. Aquatic plants, 

 roots fleshy creeping, leaves radical petiolate, 

 stem unifoliate articulate, spadix terminal 

 spicate with a vaginal s,patha below the base, 

 flowers ftZwe.— Thus quite a natural Genus, 

 widely different from Pontederia and the akin 

 Genera Kadakia, Carigola, Gomphima, Piaro- 

 pus, Lunania or Endolimna see my flora tell. 

 This forms the type of a peculiar family Unis- 

 EMiDEs 1815 near to Aroides and Typhacea, 

 the spike is a real spadix. I have given a long 

 history of this G. in my Medical flora. 



416. Unisema deltifolia Raf. m. fl. fig. 93. 

 Radical leaves oblong deltoid obtuse, base acute 

 or truncate, stem leaf subsessile similar undu- 

 late base subreniform ; spike terete, peduncle 

 subequal to spatha, segments of flowers oval 

 obtuse — in West Kentucky, Tennessee, Ala- 

 bama and Florida. Stem 3 feet, leaves 5 to 8 

 inches long, spke 3 inches. 



417. Unisema peduncularis Raf purshiana? 

 Raf. m. fl. (angustifolia ? Pursh) This differs 

 from last by leaves truncate or subcordate the 

 stem leaf on a long petiol, the peduncle of the 

 spike twice or thrice as long as the spatha, seg- 

 ments of flower linear lanceolate — Carolina to 

 Florida. Spike shorter hardly 2 inches, Var. 

 parvifolia, leaves 3 or 4 inches long only, spike 

 only one inch, peduncle and petiols not quite so 

 long. My specimens of both have all obtuse 

 leaves, none are acute. 



418. Unisema media Raf m. fl. 3. Leaves 

 oblong cordate obtuse consimilar, spike terete 

 peduncle longer than spatha, segments oblong 



