LIBERTIA 



1853 



bellate. Throughout the U. S. and Canada, east of the 

 Rocky Mts. B.M. 1709. B.R. 590 and 1654. G.C. 

 111.14:593. P.M. 5:27 (as L. borealis). Next to 

 L. clegans and L. pycnostachya, perhaps the most desir- 

 able species for ornamental purposes. 



BB. Heads oblong, 3-4 lines broad, 5-15-fld. 



c. Bracts not punctate. 



D. The heads sessile. 



2. spicata, Willd. St. stout, rather tall, 2-5 ft., and 

 very leafy: Ivs. all linear, the lower larger and broader 

 than the upper, which are gradually, reduced to the 

 linear-subulate bracts of the spike: heads 8-13-fld., 

 Hin. long, closely sessile, and forming a dense spike 

 from 6-- 12 in. long; involucral bracts rounded obtuse, 

 with usually purplish margins. In the Atlantic and 

 Gulf States, from Mass, to La. G.W. 14, p. 299. 

 B.M. 1411. Useful for low situations or along streams. 



Var. montana, Gray (L. pumila, Lodd.). Fig. 2142. 

 Lower, 10-20 in. high: Ivs. broader, the lower ones 

 J^-^in. broad, and obtuse at apex: spike proportion- 

 ately short and heads larger, the fls. blue-purple. Va. 

 and N. C., in the mountains. L.B.C. 2:147. 



DD. The heads distinctly pedicelled. 

 E. Lvs. oblong-lanceolate, relatively short. 



3. gracilis, Pursh (L. pauciflosculdsa, Nutt. L. 

 lanceoldta, Bertol.). St. slender, 1-3 ft. high: lower Ivs. 

 oblong-lanceolate, upon distinct petioles, upper reduced 

 to small linear bracts: heads in a loose raceme, 3-5-fld., 

 purple; bracts of the involucre few and rather loose. 

 Ga., Ala. and Fla. 



EE. Lvs. attenuate-linear, the radical 8-12 in. long. 



4. tenuifSlia, Nutt. (L. laevigdta, Nutt.). St. slender, 

 2-4 ft. high: Ivs. without distinction of blade and 

 petiole, only a line or two wide: heads in a strict 

 raceme, a foot or more long, about 5-fld., purple; 

 pappus strongly barbellate. N. C. to Fla. Suitable 

 for dry sandy borders. 



cc. Bracts punctate: heads peduncled. 



5. graminfolia, Pursh. St. comparatively slender, 

 2-3 ft. high, striped with light green lines: Ivs. ciliate 

 toward the base, with scattered hispid hairs: spike 

 less dense, often becoming racemose; head Ytfn.. long; 

 bracts of involucre punctate, rounded at the apex. 

 Atlantic States, Va. to Fla. Adapted to a light dry soil. 

 Considered by some to be a mere form of L. gracilis 



AA. Involucre-bracts acute or mucronate. 

 B. Heads 15-60-fld., cylindrical or turbinate. 

 c. Bracts with lanceolate, spreading, rigid tips. 



6. squarrdsa, Willd. St. stout, 6-20 in. high: Ivs. 

 linear and rigid, the lower elongated and grass-like: 

 spike variable in length, bearing few to many heads, 

 the larger heads 1 in. long; fls. bright purple; involucral 

 bracts lanceolate, rigid, and usually bearing pointed 

 tips, squarrose. E. U. S., as far west as Neb. and Texas. 

 B.R. 948 is var. intermedia, of this species. 



cc. Bracts with closely oppressed, mucronate tips. 



7. cylindracea, Michx. St. 1 ft. high: Ivs. and spike 

 as in last species: heads few, 16-20-fld. ; bracts of involu- 

 cre abruptly mucronate. Upper Canada to Minn, and 

 Mo. 



BB. Heads 3-6-fld., oblong or narrowly campanulate. 

 c. Inner bracts much longer than the fls. 



8. elegans, Willd. St. 2-3 ft.: Ivs. linear, the upper 

 soon reflexed: spike dense and wand-like, 3-20 in. long' 

 heads }-^in. long; inner involucral bracts prolonged 

 into spreading, petaloid appendages, which surpass the 

 fls. and pappus; fls. and petaloid appendages purple, 

 showy. Va., to Fla. and Texas. B.R. 267. Especially 

 adapted for dry sandy situations. 



cc. Inner bracts not longer than the fls. 

 D. Pappus bristles very plumose: bracts oppressed. 



9. punctata, Hook. St. stout, 10^0 in. high: Ivs. and 

 involucral-bracts punctate and rigid: spike long and 

 wand-like, dense and leafy; heads 4-6-fld., the fls. 

 purple, %in. long; bracts of involucre oblong, rather 

 abruptly cuspidate, ciliate on its margins; pappus 

 plumose. Sask. and Minn, to Texas and Mex. 



DD. Pappus bristles merely barbellate. 

 E. Involucral-bracts spreading. 



10. pycnostachya, Michx. St. stout, 3-5 ft. high: Ivs. 

 crowded throughout, the lower lanceolate, the upper 

 narrowly linear: spike densely fld. 5-18 in. long; 

 heads about J^in. long, all sessile; involucre with squar- 

 rose tips acute, purplish; pappus copious, minutely 

 barbellate. 111. and Iowa, to Ark. and Texas. R.H. 

 1883:324. Gn. 55:238. G.W. 6:169. One of the 

 choicest and boldest species. 



EE. Involucral-bracts oppressed. 



11. Chapmanii, Torr. & Gray. St. a foot or two high, 

 strict and rigid, whi te- velvety : Ivs. short, the lower 

 oblong-linear, the upper small and awl-shaped: spike 

 densely fld., often 1 ft. long; heads about 3-fld.; fls. 

 large for the size of the head, purple; pappus gray- 

 ish, the bristles minutely barbellate, about Y^a.. long. 

 Fla. 



L. ligulistylis, A. Nelson. St. 16-20 in. high: Ivs. bright green, 

 glabrous, the lower lance-oblong: heads few to several, in a long 

 raceme; fls. 50-70, purple; exserted style-branches conspicuous, 

 flattened, as long as corolla, light purple. Colo., Wyo. to Dakotas. 



W. W. ROWLEE. 



N. TAYLOR. f 



LIBERTIA (Marie A. Libert, a Belgian woman, who 

 wrote on liverworts about 1820). Iridaceae. Tender 

 mostly white-flowered plants classed as bulbs and pro- 

 curable from Dutch dealers. 



Perennial herbs with a short creeping rhizome and 

 long fibrous roots: Ivs. linear, equitant: perianth with- 

 out any tube above the ovary; segms. obovate, the 3 

 outer usually shorter, firmer and less showy than the 

 inner, more or less green or brown; stamens inserted at 

 the base of the segms. ; filaments free or connate toward 

 the base; ovules many, superposed: caps, small, leath- 

 ery, loculicidally 3-valved; seeds 3-cornered. The 

 genus has 8 or 10 species, in Austral., New Zeal., Tas- 

 mania and Chile. Botanically it is near Diplarrhena, 

 but in the latter the inner segms. are shorter than the 

 outer ones and connivent. Libertia belongs in the same 

 subtribe with the blue-eyed grass (Sisyrinchium), but 

 in the latter case all the periantn-segms. are about 

 equal in size. One species is blue-fld. The libertias 

 should be acceptable outdoor subjects in the milder 

 parts of the country. Prop, by division and seeds. 

 They require plenty of moisture at the roots. 



A.. Fls. white. 

 B. Clusters lax: pedicels longer than the bracts. 



pulchella, Spreng. Lvs. not rigid, 3-6 in. long, 

 entirely green: st. J^-l ft. long: infl. of 1 or few clus- 

 ters, which are 2-3-fld.; segms. K m - long, nearly equal, 

 white. S. Austral., Tasmania, New Zeal. 



ixioides, Spreng. Lvs. 1 ft. or more long, with a 

 broad pale midrib: st. 1-2 ft. long: infl. an ample panicle 

 with numerous peduncled, 2-6-fld. umbels; inner 

 segms. orbicular-cuneate, white, the outer shorter 

 tinged greenish brown : caps, broadly oblong or obovoid, 

 M~H m - long. New Zeal. 



grandiflora, Sweet. Lvs. rigid, linear, 1-2 H ft. long, 

 with pale midrib: st. 2-3 ft.: fls. rather larger than in 

 L. ixioides, the inner segms. much larger and broader 

 than the outer, white: caps, larger than in last, about 

 the same shape. New Zeal. G.C. III. 43:2. An excel- 

 lent free-flowering plant. 



