152 



HiEMODORACE^E. 



[Endogenic 



by the number of their stamens, and by their anthers turning inwards, or, if their 

 stamens are reduced to three, then, by those organs being opposite the petals ; and by 

 their simple stigma. Dr. Herbert includes all the hexandrous genera in Amaryllids ; 

 and limits the Order to those having 3 stamens and an adherent ovary ; but, although 

 it maybe very difficult to express in satisfactory language the exact differences between 

 the Blood-roots and Amaryllids, yet I think there can be no doubt of their real distinct- 

 ness, and that the diagnosis now assigned to them does sufficiently characterize them. 

 In Brazil, Southern Guiana, and also in the Mascaren islands, there occurs a race of 

 these plants which may be compared to the Conestyles of New Holland on a gigantic 

 scale. Martins, who calls them Vellozias, describes them as perennial Lilies, with 



their trunks closely covered by the withered 

 remains of leaves, branching by forks, and 

 bearing at their points tufts of leaves in the 

 manner of a Yucca or Dracaena ; some of them 

 are from 2 to 1 feet high, with a trunk some- 

 times as thick as a man's body. I find the 

 structure of that trunk most curious. It con- 

 sists of a central slender subcylindrical column, 

 which never increases in diameter after its 

 first formation, and which has the ordinary 

 monocotyledonous structure. Outside of the 

 column are arranged great quantities of slen- 

 der fibrous roots, which cohere firmly by their 

 own cellular surface, and form a spurious 

 kind of wood, which is extremely like that of 

 some kinds of Palm wood, only it is developed 

 by constant additions to the very outside of 

 the stem. Something analogous occurs in 

 Pandanus, but it is in some tree ferns only 

 that this mode of growth is exactly repeated. 

 Don proposed to make an Order of the Vel- 

 lozias ; but till their structure and that of the 

 Bloodroots shall have been thoroughly inves- 

 tigated this step is premature. 



As to Wachendorfia and its allies, with 

 triandrous flowers, and free ovary, Mr. Her- 

 bert looks upon it as the type of an Order 

 (Wachendorfiaceae) quite unconnected with 

 Haemodorum and Conostylis, and he is possi- 

 bly right ; but in the meanwhile, as we 

 know very little of these genera, it seems most expedient to dismiss them from the 

 Blood-roots and station them in reserve among the Lilies. Endlicher states that the 

 genera of this Order have the cells of the ovary opposite the petals, and this, if so, 

 would certainly be an important characteristic ; but I cannot confirm the statement : 

 it is in truth very difficult to determine such a point in the majority of the genera, 

 whose sepals and petals are all apparently on the same plane. The true Haemodoraceae 

 are smooth and dissimilar in habit to Conostylis and its allies ; wherefore a couple of 

 additional sub-Orders may be conveniently admitted here, for which better characters 

 may be hereafter found. 



The species occur in North America sparingly, and the Cape of Good Hope ; several 

 are described from the more temperate parts of New Holland, and a good many Vellozias 

 and Barbacenias occur in Brazil and the Mascaren islands. A Barbacenia (Alexandrinae) 

 growing from 10 to 12 feet high has also been noticed by Sir R. Schomburgk in the 

 Southern parts of British Guiana. 



De Candolle remarks, that the red colour found in the roots of Lachnanthes tinctoria 

 in North America, where it is used for dyeing, prevails in Haemodorum, and deserves to 

 be studied in the rest of the Order. The natives of the Swan River live on the roots of 

 such plants, especially of Htemodorurn paniculatum and spieatum, and Anigozanthus 

 floridus, which are mild and nutritious when roasted, but acrid when raw. Hook. Journ. 

 2. 355. One of the most intense bitters known is Aletris farinosa. It is used in infu- 

 sion as a tonic and stomachic, but large doses produce nausea and tendency to vomit. 

 It has also been employed in chronic rheumatism. 



Fig. C— Landscape with Vellozias ; Martins. 



