ORDER 149. MELANTHACEjE. 719 



Ga. Lvs. shorter and broader than in No. 2. St. 2 to 5f high. Fls. very open, 

 5" diam., sometimes all sterile. JL (Melanthium monoicum Walt.) 

 4 V. angtrstifolium Ph. GRASS-LEAVED YERATRTJM. Lvs. narrowly linear, 

 flat, very long, lowest obtuse, upper ones diminishing to subulate bracts ; fls. in a 

 slender panicle of racemes, those of the terminal raceme (except a few of the 

 highest) perfect and fertile, those of the lateral racemes mostly sterile ; segments 

 narrowly lanceolate, subulate, acuminate. A very slender, grass-like species, in 

 woods, W. States to the Mts. of Car. Stem. 3f high, with greenish-white flowers. 

 Leaves 1 2f by 2 3'', half-clasping. Panicle l^f long, pedicels shorter than 

 the flowers, each with a very minute bract. June, July. (Stenanthium, Gray.) 



4. AMIAN'THIUM, Gray. FLY-POISON. (Gr. dpiavTos, pure, immac- 

 ulate ; dv$o$ ; alluding to the white flowers.) Flowers ; perianth 

 segments scarcely united at base, petaloid, spreading, sessile and with- 

 out glands ; stam. 6, hypogynous, as long as the segments ; anthers 

 reniform ; ovaries 3, more or less united ; caps. 3-lobed, 3-partible ; car- 

 pels follicular, 1 4-seeded ; testa of the seeds loose, at length fleshy. 

 Herbs with scapiform stems, grass-like leaves, and a raceme of numerous, 

 white, long-pediceled fls. } turning green with age. 



1 A. muscaetoxicTim Gray. St. bulbous ; Ivs. flat, lovier broad-linear, obtuse, up- 

 per reduced to bracts ; rac. simple ; segments oblong, obtuse, shorter than the sta- 

 mens; pedicels filiform ; carpels distinct above ; sty. divergent; seeds ovoid, red. 

 Shady swamps, N. J., Penn. and Southern States. Stem 1 2f high. Leaves 

 mostly radical, about If long. Raceme 2 to 4', rarely longer, dense-flowered, 

 pedicels 6 9" long. Perianth and stamens white, the latter rather the longest. 

 Carpels united only at base, the summits horn-like and diverging. Seeds rather 

 large, scarlet-red when ripe. Apr. Jn. (Helonias erythrosperma MX.) 



2 A. angustifolium Gray. SL slender, scarcely bulbous; Ivs. narrowly linear, 

 tapering to a long, acute point ; rac. simple ; sep. oval, acutish, scarcely longer than 

 the stamens; sty. filiform, contiguous; seeds linear. Damp pine woods, Car. to 

 (Bainbridge, Ga., and) Fla. St. 2 to 3f high. Lvs. 9 to 18' long, 2 to 3" wide, 

 somewhat keeled. Rac. 3 to 5' long, 1' diam. Ped. ascending. Anth. yellow, 

 twice smaller than in No. 1. Plant of a deep green. Apr. Jn. 



5. SCrLENOCAlTLON, Gray. (Gr. cr^otvo^, a rush, KavAo^, caulis.) 

 Perianth herbaceous, of 6 linear-oblong, suberect, persistent sepals : 

 stamens 6, hypogynous, much exserted, with large, reniform, 1-celled 

 anthers ; ovaries 3, slightly* conjoined ; stigmas 3. Herb bulbous, 

 acaulescent, glabrous, with the Ivs. all radical, very long and narrow, 

 sedge-like, and a very slender scape. Fls. in a slender spike. 



S. gracile Gray. Sandy soils. Ga. and Fla. Scapes 2 to 3f high, Ivs. half as 

 long. Spike 2 to 4', with pale green fls. Fr. yet unknown. Apr., May. 



6. XEROPHYL'LUM, MX. (Gr. ^po<;, dry, QvUov, leaf.) Flowls 



; leaflets of the perianth oval, spreading, petaloid, sessile, and with- 

 out glands ; stamens 6, filaments dilated and contiguous at base ; ovary 

 subglobous ; styles 3, linear, revolute ; capsule subglobous, 3-lobed, 3- 

 celled, cells 2-seeded. Herbs with numerous dry, setaceous leaves, the 

 lower longer, rosulately reclined, the upper gradually reduced. Rac. 

 simple, with white, showy fls. 



X. asphodeloides Xutt. Sandy plains, N. J. to Car. St. 3 to 5f high, very 

 leafy. Radical Ivs. If long, very narrow, crowded and caespitous. Fls. in a long, 

 dense, showy raceme. Segm. spreading 5", obtuse. Pedicels 1'' or more long. 

 bractless at base, but with 2 bractlets above the base. Jn. 



7. HELO'NIAS, L. (Gr. e/.o, a marsh ; where some species grow.) 

 Flowers ; perianth 6-parted, spreading, petaloid, the segments sessile, 



