286 



CLASSIFICATION 



The Order possesses many species, with homo- 

 gamous bee-flowers. 



Agave FurcrcBa and most other Amaryllidece, as 

 well as Sanseviera and Aletris among LiliacecB, are 

 good examples of xerophytes with their thick suc- 

 culent leaves clothed with a thick epidermis. 



Fig. 259. — Crinum asiaticunt 



Nat. Order 8. Iridacem. — ?>\rc\\\a.v to Amaryllidacece, 

 from which it differs in having 3 stamens instead of 6. 

 This is a large temperate and S. African family, un- 

 important in India and the tropics generally. Com- 

 mon plants: dasbai-chandi {Belamcanda chinensis), 

 common in gardens all over India, blossoms in the 

 rains and ripens its seeds in the cold season; jafran or 

 saffron {Crocus sativus) (fig. 260) is a Cashmere plant, 

 the dried styles and stigmas of which yield the jafran 



