150 CLASS VI. ORDER UT. 



TRIGYNIA. 



164. HELONUS. 

 Helonias dioica. Ph. Unicorn Hoof. 



Dicecioiis scape leafy; raceme spiked, nodding; 

 pedicels short, scarcely bracted; filaments longer than 

 the corolla; petals linear; leaves oblong-lanceolate. 

 Syn, Veratrum luteum. Willd. 



Stem one or two feet high, smooth, angular. Leaves lanceo- 

 late acute. Barren flowers white, petals narrow linear, short- 

 er than the stamens. Fertile flowers with abortive stamens. 

 Germ ovate, stigmas three. Capsule oblong-cvate, opening 

 at the summit. — In various parts of Connecticut. — July. — Pe- 

 rennial. 



165. MEDEOLA. 



Medeola Virginica. Ij. Cucumber Root, 



Leaves in whorls. 

 Srjn. Gyromia Virginica. Nutt. 



Few plants exceed this in geometrical regularity of structure 

 and appearance. The stem is erect, smooth, and commonly 

 invested with loose tufts of cotton-like down. The leaves are 

 in two whorls, the lowermost a few inches from the top, con- 

 sisting of about seven or eight broad lanceolate leaves, the upper- 

 most of three, and rarely four ovate ones. The flowers are ter- 

 minal, and bend down tlirough the interstices of the upper leaves. 

 Petals lanceolate, greenish white, revolute. Stamens erect, slen- 

 der. Germ single oval, stigmas three, rarely four, reflexed, 

 twice as long as the stamens, of a reddish color as well as the 

 stamens. Berry three celled, many seeded. The root is tube- 

 rous, with a flavor resembling the cucumber. — In low woods and 

 swamps. — June, July. — Perennial. 



166. TRILLIUM. 



Trillium cernuum. L. Nodding Trillium. 



Flower on a footstalk, drooping. Willd. 

 This is the only species I have observed in the immediate 



