AMARYLLIS FAMILY 



AMARYLLIDACEAE 



STAR GRASS 



Hypoxis liirsuta (L. ) Coville 



The Amaryllis family contains a number of important 



decorative plants, of which the best known are Narcissus, 



Daffodil and Jonquil. The Century Plant is also a member 



of this family and likewise the Sisal Hemp 



from which twine and rope are made. 



Star Grass grows in dry or moist grasslands 

 from Maine to western Ontario, south to 

 Florida and Texas. It is peren- 

 nial by a corm, from which 

 arises a tuft of linear grasslike 

 leaves, all basal and more or less 

 hairy. 



The flowering stem, 2-6 

 inches high and also hairy, 

 comes from the midst of the 

 basal leaves. The flowers are 

 1-6 in an umbel. The perianth, 

 attached above the ovary, is 

 composed of 6 separate and 

 similar parts which are bright 

 yellow on the inner or upper 

 surface and greenish and some- 

 what hairy on the outer. To the bases of the 

 parts are attached the 6 stamens, somewhat un- 

 equal in length. The style is a little shorter than 

 the stamens and has 3 angles down which the stigmas extend. 

 The capsule is oblong and thin walled, and the seeds are slightly 

 angled and black. 



The Daffodil, Narcissus Pseudo-Narcissus L., of Illinois is 

 commonly found along field edges and roadsides, especially in the 

 south. A leafless angled scape 6-12 inches high springs from the 

 whitish or brownish bulb and bears a terminal, usually solitary 

 flowe r. The 6 yellowish perianth segments are separate and to their 

 bases is fix ed the c ylin drical yellowish*crow n, enclosin g the 6 stamens 

 and the pistil with a deeply inferior ovary. 



And sweet the brimming dew that overfills 



The golden chalices of all the trembling dafl'odils. 



The Old-fashioned Garden — John Russell Hayes 



64 



