LILIACE^E 205 



ANTHERICUM L. 



A. plan if oli urn L. = Simethis bicolor Kunth. (Plate XXVII). A much 

 branched elegant plant with a bract under each branch. Leaves linear, longer 

 than the stem. Flowers white within, lilac or pale violet outside, star-shaped, 

 in an irregular loose panicle. Perianth segments elliptical, with 5 veins. Cap- 

 sule globular with 3 shining seeds. 



Woods and thickets and stony places, local but sometimes abundant, as e.g. 

 near Carqueiranne. April-May. 



A. rampsum L. Stem 1-2 ft. high, ending in a branched panicle. 

 Peduncles jointed very near the base. Flowers distant, pure white, star-shaped. 

 Style longer than the perianth. Leaves linear, channelled, shorter than the 

 stem. Fruit globular, 3-celled. 



Sunny hills and woods in the lower mountains, but not in the Var. May- 

 July. 



A. LiliagO L. Stem usually shorter but less delicate than in A. ramosum 



and not branched. Flowers larger, white (i in. across). Raceme simple. 

 Peduncles jointed below the middle. Style rather shorter than the perianth. 

 Woods and hills, from the hills to the mountains. May-June. 



ASPHODELUS L. 



A. fistulosus L. (Plate XXVII). Root of fleshy fibres. Stem erect, 

 branching, 1-2 ft. high. Leaves linear, nearly cylindrical at the top and some- 

 what fistulous. Perianth segments elliptical, pale flesh colour or nearly white, 

 with a pinkish-brown line in the centre. Capsule globose, shorter than the 

 pedicels. 



Dry, sandy places on the littoral. April-May. 



A. microcarpus Vir. Small-fruited Asphodel. Root of fleshy tubercles. 

 Stem robust, 3-5 ft. high, much branched above. Leaves broadly linear, deeply 

 gouged, stiff. Flowers white, flesh-coloured, or pale rose in dense panicles. 

 Bracts very pale, fawn colour. Perianth segments 14-16 mm. long, with a green 

 nerve. Capsule small, obovate about 6 mm. long and about as long as the 

 pedicels. 



Sandy ground near the sea. Frequent. March-May. Very common on la 

 Plage d'Hyeres and at Giens. 



A. Chambeironi Jord. Intermediate between the last and the next ; 

 smaller in stature but with larger pale pink flowers than the last. Found on the 

 He de Port Cros, near Toulon and Hyeres. Very rare. May-June. 



A. cerasifer y. Gay = A. ramosus Gouan. Root a bundle of large 

 tubers. Stem simple or more often branched, 3 ft. high. Flowers white or 

 flesh coloured with pink vein. Perianth 20-24 mm - l n g- Capsule as large as a 

 big cherry, yellowish, subglobular, with thick yellowish obtuse valves, and with 

 7-9 transverse furrows. 



Dry places and hill-sides up to noom. in the Var and 1200 m. in Alpes- 

 Marit. May-June. Not found on the coast itself. 



A. albus Willd. Root with oblong tubers. Leaves broadly linear, 

 channelled and keeled. Stem simple or slightly branched, 3-4 ft. high. Perianth 

 segments light flesh coloured, with greenish-red stripe. Capsule ovate-elliptical, 

 truncate and emarginate at apex, with 8-9 transverse furrows on the valves not 

 turning yellow. It differs from the last in the form and colour of its ripe fruit, 

 and in its filaments densely ciliate to the middle. 



Mountain slopes and pastures in Alpes-Marit. and Liguria. May-June. 



APHYLLANTHES L. 



A. monspeliensis L. A curious and pretty blue flowered plant, 8-18 in. 

 high, tufted, and with hard root-stock and fibrous roots. Stem naked, slender, 

 rush-like. Leaves reduced to scaly sheaths at the base of the stem. Flowers 

 star-shaped, terminal, blue, rarely white. Stamens unequal, inserted at base 



