

ENGLISH BOTANY. 



ORDER LXXXY.-E RIOCAULONACEiE. 



Perennial marsh or aquatic herbs AN-ith fibrous I'oots and the leaves 

 all radical or situated on a short stem. Leaves linear, grasslike, 

 slightly fleshy, sometimes loosely reticulated, half sheathing at the base. 

 Flowers minute, unisexual, monoecious or rarely dioecious, supported on 

 simple scapes with sheaths at the base; each flower in the axil of a 

 scarious bract. Perianth free from the ovary, scarious, usually double, 

 outer whorl (calyx) of 2 or 3 keeled sepals, inner whorl (corolla) 

 tubular, 2- or 3-lobed, rarely absent. Stamens as many as the lobes of 

 the calyx, or twice as many; anthers 2-celled, introrse. Ovary free 

 from the perianth, 2- or 3-celled; ovules solitary in each cell, pendu- 

 lous ; style short, simple ; stigmas as many as the cells of the ovary, 

 undivided or 2-cleft. Fruit a capsule, surrounded by the persistent 

 periantli and crowned by the style, loculicidalh' 2- or 3-valved. Seeds 

 2 or 3, scaly or hairy in longitudinal lines; albumen copious, farina- 

 ceous. 



GENUS /.— E RIOCAULON. Zmn. 



Flowers monoecious, very rarely dioecious ; in the former case the 

 male and female flowers either intermixed, or the central ones male 

 and the exterior female. Male flowers with the calyx of 2 or 3 

 keeled or boat-shaped sepals : corolla tubular with two or three lobes : 

 stamens 4 or 6 ; anthers 2-celled : pistils abortive. Fertile flowers 

 with the calyx of 2 or 3 sepals : corolla of 2 or 3 narrow petals : 

 stamens none : ovary frerpiently stalked, 2- or 3-celled ; ovules 1 in 

 each coll ; style .single, Avith 2 or 3 stigmas. Capsule membranous, 

 loculicidal. 



Herbs with a tuft of loosely cellular linear leaves, and naked scapes 

 terminated by a single head. Flowers intermingled vntli bracts 

 clothed with thick white scales at the tip. 



VOL. X. B 



