POPULAR FLORA. 209 



98. COLCHICUM FAMILY. Order MELANTHACE^. 

 Herbs, with parallel-veined leaves; the flowers generally perfect or polygamous; the 

 perianth of 6 similar divisions colored alike ; the 6 stamens with their anthers turned out- 

 wards. Ovary one, 3-celled, bearing 3 styles, which are generally separate, but some- 

 times united into one. Many are acrid or poisonous plants, none more so than the common 

 Veratrum or White-Hellebore, which is often called Poke, a name which properly belongs 

 to Phytolacca, p. 191. 



Flower and leaves rising from a corm underground: perianth a long tube, bearing 6 sim- 

 ilar petal-like lobes, ( Cdlchicum) *Colchicum. 

 Flowers with a perianth of 6 separate leaves. 



Perianth persisting or withering without falling. Plants acrid-poisonous: flowers 



polygamous, in panicles, terminating the simple leafy stem. 

 Divisions of the perianth on claws, bearing the stamens: leaves narrow: flowers 



cream-colored, turning greenish-brown with age, ( Meldntliium) Melanthium- 



Divisions of the perianth without claws, greenish. Leaves oval or oblong, partly 



clasping, plaited, ( Verairum) White-Hellebore. 



Perianth falling off after flowering. Plants not poisonous: stems generally forking: 

 leaves sessile or clasping, ovate or lance-oblong: flowers perfect, generally 

 single, nodding : divisions of the perianth long and narrow. 

 Styles united into one at the bottom. Perianth large, lily-like, yellowish: fruit 



a few-seeded pod. Flower-stalk not twisted or jointed. {UvuldHa) Bellwort. 

 Styles united into one almost to the top. Divisions of the whitish or rose-colored 

 perianth recurved: fruit a many-seeded red berry. Flower-stalks 

 single in the axil of the leaves, and with a joint or abrupt bend or 

 twist in the middle, {Slreplopus) Twist-stalk. 



Bellwort. Vmdaria. 



1. Large-flowered B. Leaves oblong, clasping-perfoliate, i. e. the stem appearing to run through 



the lower part of the leaf ; perianth pale greenish-yellow, li' long. Rich woods, N. & W. (All 

 the species flower in the spring.) U. grandifibra. 



2. Perfoliate B. Like the last, but the flower smaller and yellow, and the anthers more pointed. 



Common E. U. perfoliata. 



3. Sessile-leaved B. Smaller than the rest; leaves sessile, not encompassing the stem; flower 



cream-color. U. sessiUfiUa. 



99. LILT FAMILY. Order LILIACE./E. 



A large family, with much variety in appearance. Leaves parallel-veined, and sessile or 

 sheathing. Flowers perfect and regular ; the perianth of 6 divisions or lobes (or in one 

 case with only 4), all colored alike, inserted on the receptacle free from the ovary. 

 Stamens as many as the parts of the perianth, with their anthers turned inwards. Pistil 

 one, with a 3-celled (rarely 2-celled) ovary and a single style ; but with as many stigmas 

 or lobes to the stigma, as there are cells in the ovary. Fruit a pod or a berry. 



