LIATRIS 



LIBERTIA 



1853 



bellutc. Tliroufiliiiut the I'. S. ;iii(l (';iii;ul:i, cast of tlie 

 Rockv Mts. H.iM. 1709. B.R. 590 and 1G54. G.C. 

 HI. r4:r)9:5. P.M. 5:27 (ixs L. tormfc).— Next to 

 L. ittgaiix antl L. pycno.-ilachya, porluips tlip most desir- 

 able .species for ornamental purposes. 



BH. Heads oblong, 3-4 lines broad, o-15-fld. 



c. Bracts not punctate. 



D. The licculs sessile. 



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

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

 tlian the upper, which are gradually reduced to the 

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

 ' oin- long, closely sessile, and forming a dense spike 

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

 with usualh' purplish margins. In the Atlantic and 

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

 B.M. 141 1. — Useful for low .situations or along streams. 



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

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

 'ij-^jin. broatl, antl 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. Les. oblong-lanceolate, relatively short. 



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

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

 oblong-lanceolate, upon distinct petioles, ujiiier 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. cUtemtate-linear, the radical 8-12 in. long. 



4. tenuifolia, Nutt. (L. Isevigata, Nutt.). St. slender, 

 2-4 ft, high: Ivs. without distinction of blade an(l 

 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 pedundcd. 



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 32in. 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. I nrolucre.-hracls acute or mucronate. 

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

 r. Bracts uith 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 piu-ple; 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 clo.'iely appres.-ied, 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, anfl 

 Mo. 



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

 C. fnrirr Irracts much longer than the fls. 



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

 soon rcflexed: spike dense and wand-like, 3-20 in. long; 

 heads 3^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 

 a'lapted for dry sandy situations. 



cc. Inner bracts not longer than the Jls. 

 D. Pappus bristles very plumose: bracts appressed. 



9. punctata. Hook. St. stout, 10-30 in. high: Ivs. and 

 involucral-bracts punctate and rigid: spike long and 

 wand-like, dense and leafy; hea<ls 4-()-Hd., the fls. 

 purple, J^in. long; bracts of involucre oblong, rather 

 abruptly cuspidate, ciliate on its margins; [jappus 

 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 fid. 5-18 in. long; 

 heads about Jyn. 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. I nvolucral-bracls appressed. 



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

 strict and rigid, white-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 Join. long. 

 Fla. 



L. ligulistylis, A. Nelson. St. 16-20 in. hiKh: Ivs. briglit green, 

 glabrous, the lower lanne-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, t 

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

 wrote on liverworts about 1820). Iridacese. 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: jierianth 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 perianth-segms. are about 

 equal in size. One species is blue-flfl. 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. ' 9-1 ft. long: infl. of 1 or few clus- 

 ters, which are 2-3-fld.; segms. 'jjin. 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-()-fld. uiid)els; inner 

 segms. orbicular-cuneate, white, the outer shorter 

 tinged greenish brown : caps, broadly olilong or obovoid, 

 3 3- '-.'in- long. New Zeal. 



grandifl6ra. Sweet. Lvs. rigid, linear, 1-2 '2 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 hist, about 

 the same shape. Ne%v Zeal. G.C. III. 43:2. — An excel- 

 lent free-flowering plant. 



