488 



ENDOGENOUS OR MONOCOTYLEDONOUS PLANTS. 



starchy or mucilaginous matter, and are often edible when cooked. 

 Squills are the bulbs of Scilla maritima of the South of Europe. 

 Aloes is yielded by the succulent leaves of species of Aloe. The 

 original Dragon's-blood was derived from the juice of the famous 

 Dragon-tree (Dracaena Draco) of the East. 



917. Ofd, Pontederiaces (the Pickerel-weed Family) comprises a 

 few aquatic plants, with the flowers, either solitary or spicate, aris- 

 ing from a spathe or from a fissure of the petiole ; the six-cleft 

 perianth persistent and withering, often adherent to the base of the 

 three-celled ovary ; the stamens three, and inserted on the throat 

 of the perianth, or six, and unequal in situation. Ovules numer- 

 ous ; but the fruit often one-celled and one-seeded. Ex. Ponte- 

 deria (Pickerel-weed), Heteranthera, &c. 



918. Ord, MelanthaceSB (the Colchicum Family). Herbs, with 

 bulbs, corms, or fasciculated roots. Perianth regular, in a double 

 series ; the sepals and petals either distinct, or united below into a 

 tube. Stamens six; the anthers extrorse (except in Tofieldia). 



FIG. 1108. Erythronium American urn (Dog-tooth Violet, Adder's-tongue). 1109. Perianth 

 laid open, with the stamens. H10. The pistil. 1111. Cross-section of the capsule. 



