THE NARCISSUS TRIBE. 217 



which are three orange-coloured petals, shaped ex- 

 actly like the sepals ; these are all rolled together 

 so as to form a kind of hell. The stamens {jig. 2. a.) 

 are six, and are remarkable for bearing blueish- 

 purple anthers ; a very uncommon colour for those 

 parts. From the top of the ovary springs a three- 

 cornered style, terminated by a three-lobed stigma 

 {fig- 3.). Finally, a dull greenish-brown capsule is 

 ripened, which is marked externally by six ribs (fig. 

 4.), and a horizontal line, which indicates the place 

 whence the calyx, corolla, and stamens fell ; when 

 perfectly ripe it separates into three concave valves 

 {fig. 5.), each of which carries away with itself 

 a portion of the receptacle (a.) of the seeds. The 

 seeds are spherical {fig. 6.), and consist of a great 

 mass of albumen, in which lies a little cylindrical 

 embryo {fig. 70- This form of embryo is the most 

 common in Monocotyledonous plants. Its upper 

 end is the cotyledon, its lower the radicle, and the 

 plumule or rudiment of a stem lies concealed in the 

 former. 



Of these characters a part is confined to the genus 

 Alstromeria, and a part peculiar to the Narcissus 

 tribe. The latter is briefly this : an inferior ovary ^ 

 calyx and corolla of the same form, and six stamens 

 {or more). 



To this definition answers the Daffodil in all 

 respects ; but it has, in addition, a long cup, which 

 is a row of abortive stamens ; and this circumstance 

 marks its genus. Some very fragrant hot-house plants, 

 called Pancratiums, or Sea-side Lilies, also have a 



