558 PART III. — THE CLASSIFICATION OF PLANTS. 



in Scotland, in wet places on mountains, but it is rare. NaiHhecium ossifragum , 

 the Bog-Asphodel, somewhat resembles Tofieldia, but the flowers are yellow 

 and the capsule is loculicidal ; common in Scotland and in the north of 

 England. 



The ColchiccB are bulbous plants and have introrse anthers. Colchicum 

 au^ttm/iaZe is the Autumn Crocus or Meadow Saffron; when it is flowering in 

 the autumn, the stem is underground ; it is at this time short and slender 

 (Fig, 363 k'), attached laterally to the corm of the previous year's growth (/.;), 

 and bears a few imperfectly developed leaves {V I") as well as one or two flowers 

 (h' h'') : the ovaries of the flowers are also subterranean ; the six leaves of the 

 perianth cohere and form a tube of some centimetres in leugth, which grows 

 far beyond the ovaries and above the surface of the soil, terminating in a 

 petaloid six partite limb ; the stamens are attached in the upper portion of 

 the tube. In the spring the underground stem swells at its base (/c') into a 

 corm, and grows upwards, so that the developing leaves {V L") and the capsule 

 rise above ground; a lateral shoot is formed at its base, which, in the autumn, 

 produces flowers, and this repeats the process. 



Sub-order 3. Asphodeloide^ ; rhizomatous plants, with usually radical 

 leaves, but the leaves are sometimes borne on an aerial rarely branched stem ; 

 inflorescence usually a terminal spike or raceme : perianth-leaves free or 

 connate ; anthers introrse ; fruit capsular. 



Asphodelus, Eremurus, Anthericum, Chlorophytum, Bowiea, Hemerocallis, 

 Phormium [Phormiam tenax is the New Zealand Flax), Kniphofla, Aloe, 

 Gasteria, and Xanthorhsea are cultivated. The only British species is Simethis 

 bicolor in the south of England. 



Sub-order 4. Allioide^; generally bulbous plants: inflorescence umbellate, 

 more or less completely enclosed by two or more bracts. 



Agapanthus, Nothoscordum, Milla, Broditea, and Allium are the more com- 

 monly cultivated genera. Of Allium, several species are in cultivation for 

 culinary purposes, as A. Cepa, the Onion; A. ascalonicum, the Shalot ; A 

 Schoenoprasum, Chives; A. Poi'rum, the common Leek; A. sativum {vuhjare), 

 Garlic. Some species (Wild Garlic) are wild in Britain, such as A. oleraceuvi, 

 vineale, ursiniim, and triqiietrum in Guernsey. The leaves of the various 

 species of Allium are generally tubular and hollow ; the flowers are disposed 

 in spherical heads or umbels ; bulbils are occasionally produced among the 

 flowers. Gagea lutea is also British. 



Sub-order 5. DRACiENomE^, stem erect, usually arborescent, with secondary 

 growth in thickness (see p. 205). 



Species of Yucca are commonly cultivated in gardens ; Cordyline and Dasy- 

 lirion in greenhouses. Draccena Draco is the Dragon's Tree of the Canary 

 Islands, yielding a red gum-resin (Dragon's-blood). 



Sub-order 6. Asparagoide^, with a subterranean rhizome bearing aerial 

 leafy stems : fruit baccate. 



Asparagus officinalis is the Asparagus ; the young shoots, which spring from 

 the underground rhizome, are eaten. Convallaria majalis is the Lily of the 

 Valley. Maianthemum hij'oUum has a dimerous flower. Polygonatum is 

 Solomon's Seal. Ruscus aculeatus (the Butcher's Broom), and other species, 

 are small shrubs, with leaf-like branches (phylloclades, see p. 45), on which 



