4^4 BOTANICAL OBSERVATIONS ON 



several smaller fibres. Fig. 2, is another plant with 

 a long root; here the hair-like sheaths, beginning at 

 a, are separated from this, the perennial part of the 

 stem, and turned to the right side ; at the apex is seen 

 The young shoot, marked 6,- which is not so far ad- 

 vanced as at Fig. 1 ; c c c show the remains of last 

 year's annual stem. When the young shoot is a little 

 further advanced than in Fig. 2, and not so far as in 

 Fig, i f they resemble the young convolute shoots of 

 rnonocotyledcnous plants, June 1795. The whole of 

 the- abovementioned plants have perished without 

 producing flowers, notwithstanding every care that 

 could possibly be taken of them. The principal fi- 

 gure in the drawing, marked Fig. 3, and the following 

 description, as well as the above definition, are there- 

 fore chiefly extracted from the engraving and descrip- 

 tion in the second volume of these Researches, and 

 from the information communicated to me by Mr. 

 Burt, the gentleman who had charge of the plants 

 that flowered at Gqya 9 and who gave Sir William Jon.es. 

 the drawing and description thereof. 



Description of the Plant. 



Root, it is already described above. 



Stem, lower part perennial, involved in fibrous sheaths^ 

 &c. as above described; the upper part herbaceous 

 suberect, simple, from six to twelve inches long. 



Leaves four-fold, the lowermost pair of the four radi- 

 cal are opposite, sessile, oblong, forming, as it were, 

 a two-valved spathe ; the other pair are also oppo- 

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