49 2 



MELANTHACEAE. 



Vol. I. 



i. Toxicoscordion Nuttallii (A. Gray) Rydb. 

 Nuttall's Camass. Fig. 1232. 



Amianthium Nuttallii A. Gray, Ann. Lye. N. Y. 4: 123. 



1837. 

 Zygadenus Nuttallii S. Wats. Proc. Am. Acad. 14: 279. 



1879. 

 T. Nuttallii Rydb. Bull. Torr. Club 30: 272. 1903. 



Light green, scarcely glaucous, stem i°— 2° high. 

 Bulb large, coated; leaves 3"-8" wide, shorter than 

 the stem, strongly conduplicate, the upper very short; 

 inflorescence racemose or paniculate bracts mem- 

 branous, scarious, shorter than the slender pedicels; 

 flowers mostly perfect, about 6" broad; perianth- 

 segments oval or ovate, obtuse, free from the ovary, 

 thin, short-clawed, bearing a roundish spot-like 

 gland; capsule 4"-6" long. 



On prairies, Kansas, Colorado and Arkansas. May- 

 June. 



2. Toxicoscordion gramineum Rydb. Death- 

 camass. Fig. 1233. 



Zygadenus venenosus Rydb. Cohtr. Dept. Agric. 3 : 525. 



1896. Not S. Wats. 

 Zygadenus gramineus Rydb. Bull. Torr. Club 27: 535. 



1900. 

 T. gramineum Rydb. Bull. Torr. Club 30 : 272. 1903. 



Pale green, stem slender, 6-2 tall, from a small 

 coated bulb. Leaves conduplicate, roughish, 2"-3" 

 wide, shorter than the stem, the upper small and 

 distant; inflorescence a simple or somewhat 

 branched raceme, 2'-4' long in flower, elongating in 

 fruit, the slender pedicels longer than the scarious 

 lanceolate bracts ; flowers yellow or yellowish, 

 polygamous, about 4" wide; perianth-segments 

 ovate or elliptic, obtuse or acutish, short-clawed, free 

 from the ovary, bearing a roundish gland with an 

 irregular margin; fruiting pedicels erect; capsule 

 longer than the perianth. 



South Dakota to Saskatchewan, Idaho, Nebraska and Utah. Hog's-potato. 

 Roots poisonous. . May-June. 



Death-camass. 



12. OCEANORUS Small, Fl. SE. U. S. 252. 1903. 



A glabrous perennial herb, with erect, fibrous-coated bulb-like rootstocks. Leaves nar- 

 row, borne on the lower part of the stem, the outer ones reduced to sheathing scales. Flow- 

 ers polygamous, in terminal panicles, the lower ones of each branch of the inflorescence 

 fertile. Perianth-segments each bearing a thick yellow gland at the base. Stamens some- 

 what shorter than the perianth. Ovary 3-celled, each cavity with several ovules. Capsule 

 conic, erect, tipped by the short styles. [Greek, the plant inhabiting both coastal and moun- 

 tainous regions.] 



A monotypic genus of the southeastern United States. 



