MELANTHACB^. fcOLCHICUM FAMILY.) 487 



from a slender, creeping rhizoma. Leaves sessile or perfoliate. Flowers nod- 

 ding, solitary, lateral or at tlie apex of a 1 -leaved branch, yellow. 



* Leaves rounded at the base, perfoliate. 



1. TJ. perfoliata, L. Leaves ovate or oblong, glaucous beneath, the sides 

 revolute when young ; leaves of the perianth lanceolate, acute, granular-rough- 

 ened within, pale yellow; capsule obovate, truncate. (XJ. flava. Smith.) — 

 Woods and thickets, Florida, and northward. April. — Stem 8' - 12' high. 

 Leaves lj'-2j' long. Flowers 1' long. 



2. TJ. grandiflora, Smith. Leaves oblong, pale or closely pubescent 

 beneath, the young ones revolute on the margins ; leaves of the perianth linear- 

 lanceolate, acute, smooth within, greenish yellow ; anthers obtuse ; capsule 

 obovate. — Woods and thickets, in the upper districts of Georgia, and north- 

 ward. April — Larger than the preceding. Leaves 2' - 5' long. Flowers 1^' 

 long. 



* * Leaves narrowed at the hase, sessile. 



3. U. sessilifolia, L. Smooth, leaves lanceolate-oblong, glaucous be- 

 neath ; flowers on short naked peduncle-like branches, opposite the leaves ; leaves 

 of the perianth lanceolate, obtuse, barely longer than the 3-cleft style ; anthers 

 obtuse ; capsule obovate, stalked. — Rich soil in the middle and upper districts, 

 and northward. April. — Stem 6'- 12' high. Leaves l'-l|' long. Flowers 

 8" long. 



4. U. Floridana, n. sp. Smooth ; leaves oblong, slightly clasping, glau- 

 cous beneatli ; flowers on a slender 1 -leaved branch ; leaves of the perianth 

 linear-lanceolate, acuminate, twice as long as the 3-cleft style ; anthers pointed. 

 — Low shady woods. Middle Florida, March. — Stem 4'-6' high. Leaves thin, 

 1' long. Flowers 8" long, pale yellow. 



5. IT. putaerula, Michx. Slightly pubescent ; leaves green on both sides, 

 oval, rounded at the base and somewhat clasping, rough on the margins ; style 

 3-parted nearly to the base, as long as the short-pointed anthers ; capsule ovate, 

 sessile. — Mountains of North Carolina. ^ Flowers yellowish-white. 



2. PEOSAETES, Don. 



Perianth bell-shaped, corolla-like, the divisions distinct, deciduous. Filaments 

 filiform, much longer than the linear-oblong obtuse anthers. Styles united : 

 stigmas spreading. Berry ovoid, acute, 3 - 6-seeded. — A low forking herb. 

 Peduncles termmal, not bent nor twisted, 



1. P. lanuginosa, Don. (Streptopuslanuginosus, Mc^a;.) — High moun- 

 tains of North Carolina. June. — Leaves 2' -3' long, sessile, ovate-oblong, acu- 

 minate, oblique or slightly cordate at the base, 5-nerved, pubescent. Peduncles 

 1-2, terminal, slender, pubescent. Leaves of the perianth ^' long, lanceolate, 

 acuminate, 3-nerved, greenish. Style smooth Berry red. 



3. STEEPTOPUS, Michx. 



Perianth bell-shaped, corolla-like, with the divisions distinct, deciduous, the 

 inner ones keeled. Anthers sagittate, fixed near the base, entire, or 2-pointed at 



