28 LILIUM CANADENSE.—AMERICAN YELLOW LILY. 
stalk as shown in our plate (Fig. 1), while in the best specimens 
of L. superbum the flowers are more or less axillary as well as 
terminal, though in poor specimens of the latter when there are 
but two or three flowers on the stalk, they are only terminal, as 
in L. Canadense. 
The Lily increases by underground stems. These, very much 
arrested in their development, form the bulb, as may be seen by 
the great number of small scales, each of which is the represent- - 
ative of a leaf. As three of these leaves would make a circle 
round the stem if alternately scattered as they are on many allied 
plants, we may have some idea from the number of these little 
scales how long the lily stem would be if accelerated instead of 
arrested as the stems or branches of ordinary plants are. As 
we see in our Figs. 2 and 3, the rhizoma or underground stem 
pushes out from the base of the last year’s bulb (Fig. 2), gradu- 
ally thickening as it approaches the end of its season of growth. 
The new bulb (Fig. 3) in the case illustrated is much larger than 
its predecessor, and will make a stronger flower stem next year. 
The yellow Lily is found in all portions of the United States 
east of the Mississippi, and in Arkansas and Minnesota, skipping 
Kansas. Some closely allied forms are also found on the Pacific 
slope, but botanists are not yet agreed as to whether they are 
really distinct species or forms of this one. It is usually found 
in wet, open meadows, but as we go southwardly it is found only 
at the higher elevations, showing that its real home centre is 
towards the north. 
EXPLANATIONS OF THE PLATE.—1I. Top of an averaged-sized flower stem, from Massachusetts. 
2. The flowering bulb. 3. New bulb for flowering the next year. 
