ENDOGENOUS OR MONOCOTYLEDONOUS PLANTS. 487 



tinct or monadelphous ; the anthers extrorse ! Stigmas three, di- 

 lated or petaloid ! Seeds with hard albumen. Ex. Iris, Crocus. 

 The rootstocks, corms, &c., contain starch, with some volatile 

 acrid matter. Orris-root is the dried rhizoma of Iris florentina, of 

 Southern Europe. Saffron is the dried orange stigmas of Crocus 

 sativus. 



914. Ord, DioscoreaceSB (the Yam Family) consists of a few twin- 

 ing plants, with large tuberous roots or knotted rootstocks ; distin- 

 guished by their ribbed and netted-veined leaves, with distinct peti- 

 oles, and by their inconspicuous dioecious flowers. Perianth in 

 the, pistillate flowers adherent to the ovary ; the limb six-cleft in 

 two series. Stamens six. Ovary three-celled, with only one or 

 two ovules in each cell : styles nearly distinct. Fruit often a three- 

 winged capsule. Albumen cartilaginous. Ex. Dioscorea. The 

 tubers of one or more species, filled with starch and mucilage (but 

 more or less acrid until cooked), are Yams, an important article of 

 food in tropical countries. 



915. Ord, SmilaceSB (the Smilax Family). Herbs or shrubby 

 plants, often climbing, with the veins or veinlets of the leaves 

 reticulated. Flowers perfect or dioecious. Perianth six-parted or 

 double, the three sepals green, "and the three petals colored. Sta- 

 mens six : anthers introrse. Cells of the ovary and distinct styles 

 or stigmas three. Berry few- or many-seeded. Albumen hard. 

 Ex. Smilax (Greenbrier, Catbrier, &c.). Sarsaparilla of the 

 shops consists of the roots of numerous species of Smilax, chiefly 

 of tropical America. Trillium is the type of the suborder TRILLI- 

 ACEJE. 



916. Ord, LiliaceSB (the Lily Family). Herbs, with the flower- 

 stems springing from bulbs, tubers, or with fibrous or fascicled roots. 

 Leaves simple, sheathing or clasping at the base. Flowers regu- 

 lar, perfect. Perianth colored, mostly of six parts, or six-cleft. 

 Stamens six : anthers introrse. Ovary free, three-celled ; the 

 styles united : stigma often three-lobed. Fruit capsular or fleshy, 

 with several or numerous seeds in each cell. Albumen fleshy. 

 Ex. This large and widely diffused order comprises a great varie- 

 ty of forms : the Lily and Tulip represent one division ; the Poli- 

 anthes (Tuberose), a second ; the Aloe and Yucca, a third ; the 

 Hyacinth, the Onion, &c. (Allium), the Asphodel, Asparagus, dec., 

 a fourth. Acrid and often bitter principles prevail in the order, 

 and are most concentrated in the bulbs, &c., which abound in 



