THE AMARYLLIS FAMILY. 67 



So fragile and elfin-like is this beautiful llower that it seems hardly possi- 

 ble it should withstand the fierce winds and driving rains that often beat 

 down on it as it stands the solitary sentinel of some moist place. But it 

 fades quickly, sometimes almost before it has fully opened. 



A. TreaticE, a species wonderfully similar to the preceding, is found in 

 the low grounds of Eastern Florida. Its leaves, Jiowever, are without 

 lustre, and are rather rounded about their margins. The perianth seg- 

 ments also are somewhat obtuse. 



ST. JOHN'S LILY. AiTERICAN CRINUIT. 



Cr 1 71 urn A mericdn uni . 



FAMILY COLOUR ODOUR RANGE TIME OF BLOOM 



Amaryllis, White. Fragrant. Florida atid westward. ISIay-October. 



Flowers : large ; showy; from two to five growing erectly in an umbel at the sum- 

 mit of a thick scape. Perianth : white with six, H 11 ear-lanceolate, spreading seg- 

 ments; shorter than the greenish tube. Stamens: six; their filaments slender. 

 Leaves : long; strap-shaped, or linear and tapering to a blunt point at the apex ; 

 remotely toothed. Scape: one to two feet high; thick; rounded on the edges; 

 smooth. Bulb : coated. 



One of the most potent charms of the unusual scenery along the banks of 

 the St. John's river in Florida is the tangled masses of this plant's milk-white 

 and intensely fragant fiowers ; and so luxuriantly do they grow that morning 

 glories twine about them and they dispute the soil with thrifty sagittarias. 

 So spreading and slender are the segments of their perianth that the greater 

 number of natives call the plant, and not inappropriately, the " spider lily," 

 although this name seems more especially to belong to members of the genus 

 Hymenocallis. It is a rare thing to find the flowers in perfect condition for 

 even before they are fully blown they are devoured by grasshoppers of great 

 size. 



SPIDER LILY, 



Hymenocallis Occident iilis. 



FAMILY COLOUR ODOUR RANGE TIME OF BLOOM 



Amaryllis. White. Fragratit. Georgia and TeJinesscc J uly-Sepieml'cr. 



northwestward. 



Flowers : very large; showy ; six to twelve growing in an umbel at the end of a 

 tall, two-edged scape; the flowers being subtended by lanceolate, membraneous 

 bracts. Perianth : with six long, very slender, spreading divisions which unite at 

 their bases into a long, cylindric tube. Stamens: six; their filaments long and 

 united by a thin formation called the crown, and which is funnel-shajjed with six, 

 toothed lobes. Anthers : long, attached at the middle. Style: slender ; greatly 

 exserted. Leaves: from the base; linear-oblong, strap-shaped; tapering to a blunt 

 point at the apex; smooth; glaucous. The plant arises from a large bulb. 



Amid a diversified vegetation of exceeding fruitfulness and beauty this 



