54 THE LILY FAMILY. 



olate, recurved segments, streaked on the outside with purple. Stamens: six, in- 

 cluded ; anthers, attached at their ends. Pistil : one. Style: club-shaped. 

 Leaves: but one on the young, flowerless plants, and two or rarely three on the 

 flowering individuals; oblong, pointed at the apex and tapering into sheath-jike, 

 clasping petioles ; thin; glabrous; mottled with purple and brown. An erect plant 

 which arises from an ovoid corm. 



Those who wander much in the woods are prone to watch with delight 

 the early up-springing of this plant's quaint leaves which proclaim so surely 

 the end of winter and the coming of their own small lily. It is a sprightly, 

 bright little flower, and has never a languid air when growing in its natural 

 habitat, in woody, w^et places, or about old trees. Shortly after it has been 

 picked, however, it droops and closes its petals. For a long time after the 

 bloom has passed these upright and clear-cut leaves, which are not unlike 

 the ears of a startled fawn, remain a feature of woodland scenes, and as 

 they grow old, they blend most attractively on their surface colours chang- 

 ing from brown to purple. Often the plants cover the ground in dense, thick 

 masses. The country people collect them before flowering to use medicinally. 

 It is to be lamented that they mostly know the plant by the misleading 

 name of dog's-tooth violet. 



YELLOW COLIC=ROOT. (Plate XVI 11.) 



Aletris aitrea. 



FAMILY COLOUR ODOUR RANGE TIME OF BLOOM 



Lily. Yellow. Scentless. Texas and Florida to Afril-August. 



Virginia and New Jersey. 



Flowers : small; growing in a long raceme at the end of a scape from one to 

 three feet high. Perianth: bell-shaped; ascending; with six ovate, pointed lobes, 

 somewhat rough on the outside. Stamens: included. Pistil: one, the ovary 

 three celled. Leaves: those of the base, tufted; one and a half to three and a half 

 inches long, oval, or linear oblong, pointed at the apex and tapering at the base 

 into very short petioles; smooth; stem leaves, few; sessile; linear; very small 

 and bract-like among the flowers. Pools: fibrous; bitter. 



In dry, pine barrens this tall stemless herb is found sending forth a wand- 

 like raceme of bell-shaped bloom which is dainty and yet very noticeable. 

 The pale yellowish green leaves, forming a rosette about the base, also add 

 considerably to its attractiveness. Near Summerville, South Carolina, and 

 about Jacksonville, Florida, the plant appears to thrive amazingly well. 



A.farmbsa, colic-root, star-grass, is a more widely distributed and better 

 known plant than the already mentioned one. In the south also a form 

 with golden yellow flowers which has been heretofore associated with this 

 species has been recently described by Dr. Small as Aletris lidea. The 

 species, however, which we are regarding has white flowers and their perianth 



