Obdkr 143.— IRIDACE^ 697 



woolly outeide aud inside ; petals narrower tban tlae sepals, somewhat 

 interior ; stamens 6, filaments naked, anthers erect ; style conical, 3- 

 partible ; stigma simple ; capsule opening at the summit, 3-celled, 

 3-valved, many-seeded. — An herb with a creeping root, flexuous stem, 

 woolly above, and a loose cormyb, densely clothed with soft, white 

 wool. 



li. Ameiricina. Sandy swamps, pino barrens, N. J. St. 1 to 2f Iiigli, erect> 

 hoary-tomentous whou young. Lvs. glaucous, narrowly linear, equitant, glab- 

 rous, the lower and radical long, cauline 2 or 3, shorter. Corymb finally much 

 expanded, many flowered. Corolla woolly and yellow within, segments reflexed, 

 about as long as the stamens. Capsule ovate, dissepiments arising from the center 

 ofeachvalye. Seeds white. Jl., Aug. (L. auroa Ker. Conostylis, Ph.) 



3. ALETRIS, L. Star-grass. Colic-root. (Gr. aXsTplg, a mil- 

 ler's wife ; because of the mealy-looking flowers.) Perianth 6-cleft, 

 tubular, rugous as if scurfy or mealy, persistent ; stamens issuing at the 

 top of the tube, style 3-sided, 3-partible ; ovary adherent at base only ; 

 capsule opening at top, many-seeded. — Smooth herbs, very bitter, lvs. 

 radical, rosulate, and scape many-flowered. 



1 A. farindsa L. Lvs. broad-lanceolate; fls. white, oblong-tubular, pediceled; 

 perianth in fruit rugous or mealy in appearance. — Grows in low grounds, in most 

 of the States. Root premorse. Scape 20 — 30' high, with remote scales or bracts, 

 and surrounded at base with a circle of lanceolate, sessile leaves. These are 3 — 1' 

 long, J as wide, and lie flat upon the ground. Flowers in a long, thin raceme. 

 Perianth white, J' long, on very short pedicels, rugous without, when old. Me- 

 dicinal. July. 



2 A. ai^rea "Walt. Lvs. lanceolate ; j?.?. j/eZfew, subeessile ; perianth short, tubular- 

 campanulate, finally rugous aud very scabrous. — In the pine barrens of N. J. to 

 Fla, abundant, Scarcely different from the preceding except in color. Scape 

 2 — 3f high, with rather distant yellow flowers in the spioate raceme. Lvs. all 

 radical, 2 to 3' by 3 — i". Jl., Aug. 



Order CXLIII. IRIDACEJE. Irids. 



Herbs with corms, bubs or rhizomes, equitant, 2-ranked leaves and spathaceoua 

 bracts. Perianth tube adherent to the ovary, segments in 2 sets, often unequal, and 

 oouvolute in bud. Stamens 3, alternate with the petals, anthers extrorse. Style 1^ 

 stigmas 3, often petaloid. Capsule 3-valved, 3-celled, loculicidal. Seeds many, with 

 hard, fleshy albumen. Figs. 76, 151, 425. 



Genera 52, species 550, chiefly natives of the Cape of Good Hope, or of the middle of Europe 

 «r N. Americ.1. 



ProperUes, — More remflrlcable for beauty than ntiJlty. Some of them are cathartic, aa Iris 

 tuberosa. The aromatic orHe root is the dried rliizome of Irisjlorcntina of S. Europe. Safron 

 •onsists of the dried orange-colored stigmas of Crocus eativus. 



GENERA. 



§ Flowers irregular, somewhat bilabiate, nodding. Gladiolus. T 



§ Flowers regular and equilateral, mostly erect. (*) 



* Sepals similar to the petals in. form, size and position, (a) 



a Stamens distinct. Tube very long, partly under ground Ceocus. 6 



a Stamens distinct. Tube short or none above the ovary Ixia. 5 



a Stamens monadelphous. Flowers small, blue. Plant gross-like . . .SmTEiNCBiuii. 4 



• Sepals larger than the petals and otherwise dissimilor. (b) 



b Stamens monadelphous. Petals spreading, panduriform Tioeidia. 8 



b Stamens distinct, — stigmas slender, on a slender style Nhmastyhs. 3 



—stigmas petaloid, on a very short stylo Ibis. 1 



1. IRIS, L. Flower-de-Luce. (Name from the Greek, signifying 

 rainbow ; on account of the varied color of the flowers.) Sepals 3, 



