304 LILY ORDER 



1. Carpels 3; fruit linear or club-shaped, tapering 



to the base T. pahtstris 



2. Carpels 6 ; fruit oblong or ovoid, base broad T. maritima 



LILIALES LILY ORDER 

 COMMELINACEAE SPIDERWORT FAMILY 



Sepals 3, green, petals 3, colored, stamens usually 6, ovary 2-3-celled, 

 stigma entire or slightly 2-3-lobed, capsule 2-3-celled, splitting; flowers 

 in cymes, usually with leafy bracts ; perennial or annual herbs with regular 

 or irregular, perfect flowers and alternate, entire, sheathing leaves. 



1. Flowers regular; stamens with anthers usually 



6; bracts leaf-like TRADESCANTIA 



2. Flowers irregular; stamens with anthers usually 



3 ; bracts spathe-like COMMELINA 



COM M ELI N A Linne 1753 DAY FLOWER 

 (Named for Commelin, a Dutch botanist) 



Sepals 3, somewhat unequal, petals 3, blue, one of them smaller, sta- 

 mens with anthers 3, rarely 2, imperfect stamens usually 3, filaments smooth, 

 capsule 3-celled, 3-6-seeded ; flowers in cymes with spathe-like bracts ; 

 leaves alternate, entire, sheathing; perennial. 

 Stems 1-3 ft. high; leaves lanceolate or lance-linear, 



3-5 in. long ; flowers about 1 in. wide C. virginica 



TRADESCANTIA Linne 1753 SPIDERWORT 



(Named for Tradescant, an English gardener) 



PL 42, fig. 2. 



Sepals 3, green, petals 3, blue, purple or pink, rarely white, alike, sta- 

 mens 6, ovary 3-celled, capsule 3-celled, 3-12-seeded; flowers in terminal 

 or axillary umbels, usually with leaf-like bracts ; leaves alternate, narrow, 

 long and entire ; perennial. 

 Stems .5-4 ft. tall ; leaves linear- to lance-linear, 



smooth and glaucous to hairy ; flowers 1-2 in. wide T. virginidna 



LILIACEAE LILY FAMILY 



Sepals 3, usually colored like the petals, petals 3, usually separate, 

 sometimes united, stamens 6, ovary 3-celled, styles separate or united, stig- 

 ma 3-lobed or globose, fruit a capsule; flowers usually perfect, solitary or 



