500 XYRIDACE^:. (YELLOW-EYED GRASS FAMILY.) 



fan, laterally curved ; spikes oblong, mostly acute, few-flowered, angular ; bracts 

 light brown, entire ; lateral sepals lanceolate, short-fringed on the wingless keel ; 

 petals obovatc ; sterile filaments often beardless. Low pine barrens, near the 

 coast, West Florida. April and May. Scape 4' - 12' high. Leaves ' - 1 ' long. 

 Spikes 2" - 4" long. Petals 2" long. 



2. Sheath of the scape shorter than the leaves. Perennials. 



* Sterile filaments bearded : sepals included. 



-i- Lateral sepals fringed on the keel. 



3. X. ambigua, Beyr. Scape rigid, finely furrowed, rough, 2-edged 

 above, 1 -angled below ; leaves linear-lanceolate, rough on the edges ; spike 

 ovate-lanceolate or oblong, even, often acute, many-flowered ; bracts light brown, 

 oval, not crowded on the spike ; lateral sepals lanceolate, tapering at each end, 

 shining, narrowly winged; petals round obovate; seeds ovoid. Open grassy 

 pine barrens, Florida to North Carolina. July -Sept. Scape 2 -3 high, 

 mostly solitary. Leaves 6'- 12' long. Spikes 9"- 15" long. Petals |' long. 



4. X. stricta, n. sp. Scape flattened and broadly margined, rough-edged 

 above, smooth and 1 - 2-angled below, slightly striate ; leaves long, linear, 

 smooth ; spikes oblong or cylindrical, obtuse, many-flowered ; bracts dark 

 brown, orbicular, crowded on the spike ; lateral sepals broadly winged above 

 the middle, narrowed below ; petals small, wedge-obovate ; seeds ovoid. 

 Shallow ponds in the pine barrens, West Florida. July - Sept. Scapes 

 slender, clustered, 2 -3 high. Leaves l-l long. Spikes 9" -12" long. 

 Petals 2" long. 



5. X. flexuosa, Muhl. Somewhat bulbous ; scape smooth, 2-edged above, 

 nearly terete below ; leaves linear, smooth ; spikes globose, few-flowered ; lateral 

 sepals lanceolate, wingless. (X. bulbosa, Kunth.) Swamps in the upper dis- 

 tricts of Georgia, and northward. July -Sept. Scape 6' -12' high. Leaves 

 4' - 8' long. Spike 3" - 5" long. 



-< -i Lateral sepals broadly ivinged, and variously toothed or fimbriate. 



6. X. Elliottii. Scape slender, flattened and 2-edged throughout, or 1- 

 edged below, roughish and mostly spiral ; leaves narrowly linear, sharp-edged, 

 twisted ; spike few-flowered, elliptical, obtuse ; lateral sepals linear, the wing 

 cut-toothed above the middle ; petals obovate. (X. brevifolia, Ell. ex descr.) 

 Wet grassy pine barrens, Florida to South Carolina. July. Scape l-l 

 high. Leaves 6' -9' long. Petals 3" long. 



7. X. difFormis, n. sp. Scapes clustered, slender, smooth, widely 2-edged 

 above, terete or 1 -2-angled below; leaves thin, linear-lanceolate, smooth ; spikes 

 many-flowered, ovate, acute, even, often 2- 4-cleft; lateral sepals lanceolate, with 

 the broadly winged keel incised-fimbriate ; petals obovate ; seeds elliptical, 

 smooth. Swamps near the coast, West Florida. July. Scapes 1 - 1 high. 

 Leaves 9' - 15' long. Spikes 6" - 9" long. Petals small. 



8. X. serotina, n. sp. Scapes clustered, twisted and mostly spiral, rough- 

 angled and 2-edged above, striate ; leaves linear-lanceolate, rigid, rough on the 

 edges; spikes many-flowered, ovoid, obtuse, dark brown, even; bracts round- 



