516 IRIDACJE^. (iris family.) 



opposite the stifjtuns, loilh eitrorse anthrrx. — Flowers from a spathe of 2 

 or more leaves or bracts, usually showy. Style single : stigmas 3, opposite 

 the cells of the ovary. Pod 3-celled, lociilicidal, many-seeded. Seeds 

 anatropous: embryo straight in (leshy albumen. Rootstocks, tubers, or 

 conns mostly acrid. — Reprerented in gardens by Crocu.s, Glaimolus, 

 TiGRiDi.A. or TiGKR-FLOWKU, and by three genera in the wild state. 



1. Iris. Outer Jivisions of the perianth recurved ; the inner erect : stigmas petal-like. 



2. Partlniillliis. Perianth eciually spreading: filaments nearly distinct : stigmas dilated, 



3. SiHyriiichiiiin. Perianth regular and equally spreadiog : filaments luonaUelpbous lo 



the top : stigmas thread-like. 



1. IRIS, L. Flower-de-Luce. 



Perianth 6-clcft; the tube more or less ])rolongcd beyond the ovary; the 3 

 outer divisions spreading or reflexed ; the ."5 inner smaller and erect. Stamens 

 distinct ; the oblong or linear anthers sheltered under the overarching petal-like 

 stigmas (or rather branches of the style, bearing the true stigma in the form of 

 a thin lip or plate under their apex) : most of the style connate with the tube 

 of the perianth. Pod 3-6-angled, coriaceous. Seeds depressed-flattened. — 

 Perennials, with sword-shaped or grassy leaves, and large showy flowers; ours 

 nil with creeping and more or less tuberous rootstocks. ('iptJ, the rainbow 

 deified, anciently applied to this genus on account of the bright and varied 

 colors of the blossoms.) 



* Steins leaf If and rather tall ( 1 ° - 3° high ) , from thickened rootxtochs, often branching : 



tube of the perianth shorter than the divisions, tvhich are beardless and a'esfless, 

 the erect inner ones (petals) much smaller than the outer. 

 -1- Flowers violet-blue, variegated with greenish, yellowish or ichite, and purple-veined. 



1. I. versicolor, L. (Larger Blue Flag.) Stem stout, angled on 

 one side ; leaves sword-shaped (|' wide) ; ovary obtusely triangular with the sides 

 flat; flowers (2^' -3' long) short-peduncled, the funnel-form tube shorter than 

 the ovary; pod oblong, turgid, with rounded angles. — Wet places: common. 

 May, June. 



2. I. Virglnica, L. (Slender Blue Flag.) Stem very slender, terete ; 

 leaves narrowly linear (2" -3" Avide) ; flowers slender-peduncled (H'-2' long), 

 the tube extremely short; ovary 3-angled, tach side 2-grooved ; pod sharply 

 triangular. (I. prismatica, Pursh. I. gracilis, Bigel.) — Marshes, Maine to 

 Virginia and southward, near the coast. June. 



1- H- Flowers yellowish or dull reddish-brown. 



3. I. cuprea, Pursh. Stem and leaves as No. 1 ; tube of the perinnth 

 cylindrical, as long as the G-angled ovary; petal-like branches of the style 

 narrow. — Swamps near Cairo, S. Illinois (Dr. Tosf>y), and southward. May. 



* * Stems low (.3' — 6' high), from tnfedand creeping slender (or here and there tuber- 



ous-thic.ke.nexl) rootstocks, I -3-flowered: tul)e of the peridnth long and slender ; 

 the viuhf-lilue divitions nearly equal. 



4. I. verna, L. (Dwarf Iris.) Leaves linear, grass-like, rather glau- 

 cous ; the thread-like tube of the iKuianth about the length of the divisions, which 



