MELANTHACE^E. (COLCHICUM FAMILY.) 487 



from a slender, creeping rhizoma. Leaves sessile or perfoliate. Flowers nod- 

 ding, solitary, lateral or at the apex of a 1 -leaved branch, yellow. 

 ^ * Leaves rounded at the base, perfoliate. 



1. U. perfoliata, L. Leaves ovate or oblong, glaucous beneath, the sides < 

 revolute when young ; leaves of the perianth lanceolate, acute, granular-rough- 

 ened within, pale yellow ; capsule obovate, truncate. (U. flava, Smith.) 

 Woods and thickets, Florida, and northward. April. Stem 8' -12' high. 

 Leaves l^'-2^' long. Flowers 1' long. 



2. U. grandiflora, Smith. Leaves oblong, pale or closely pubescent 

 beneath, the young ones revolute on the margins ; leaves of the perianth linear- 

 lanceolate, acute, smooth within, greenish yellow ; anthers obtuse ; capsule 

 obovate. Woods and thickets, in the upper districts of Georgia, and north- 

 ward. April, Larger than the preceding. Leaves 2' - 5' long. Flowers l' 



long. 



* * Leaves narrowed at the base, sessile. 



3. TJ. sessilifolia, L. Smooth ; leaves lanceolate-oblong, glaucous be- 

 neath ; flowers on short naked peduncle-like branches, opposite the leaves ; leaves 

 of the perianth lanceolate, obtuse, barely longer than the 3-cleft style ; anthers 

 obtuse ; capsule obovate, stalked. Rich soil in the middle and upper districts, 

 and northward. April. Stem 6' -12' high. Leaves I'-ljp long. Flowers 

 8" long. 



4. U. Floridana, n. sp. Smooth ; leaves oblong, slightly clasping, glau- 

 cous beneath ; flowers on a slender 1 -leaved branch ; leaves of the perianth 

 linear-lanceolate, acuminate, twice as long as the 3-cleft style ; anthers pointed. 

 Low shady woods, Middle Florida, March. Stem 4' -6' high. Leaves thin, 

 1' long. Flowers 8" long, pale yellow. 



5. U. puberula, Michx. Slightly pubescent ; leaves green on both sides, 

 oval, rounded at the base and somewhat clasping, rough on the margins ; style 

 3-parted nearly to the base, as long as the short-pointed anthers ; capsule ovate, 

 sessile. Mountains of North Carolina. Flowers yellowish-white. 



2. PROSARTES, Don. 



Perianth bell-shaped, corolla-like, the divisions distinct, deciduous. Filaments 

 filiform, much longer than the linear-oblong obtuse anthers. Styles united: 

 stigmas spreading. Berry ovoid, acute, 3-6-seeded. A low forking herb. 

 Peduncles terminal, not bent nor twisted. 



1. P. lanuginosa, Don. (Streptopus lanuginosus, Michx.) High moun- 

 tains of North Carolina. June. Leaves 2' -3' long, sessile, ovate-oblong, acu- 

 minate, oblique or slightly cordate at the base, 5-nerved, pubescent. Peduncles 

 -1-2, terminal, slender, pubescent. Leaves of the perianth J' long, lanceolate, 

 acuminate, 3-nerved, greenish. Style smooth. Berry red. 



3. STREPTOPUS, Michx. 



Perianth bell-shaped, corolla-like, with the divisions distinct, deciduous, the 

 inner ones keeled. Anthers sagittate, fixed near the base, entire, or 2-pomted at 



