ORCHIS FAMILY 47 
2. I. prismatica Pursh. SLENDER Biur Fiac. Rootstock rather 
slender, with tuber-like thickened portions. Stem slender, cylin- 
drical, usually unbranched, 1-3 ft. high. Leaves 2-3 in number, nar- 
rowly linear, 1-1 in. wide. Flowers slender-peduncled, solitary or in 
twos, blue with yellow veins, the perianth tube beardless and crest- 
less. Ovary 3-angled; capsule sharply 3-angled. Marshy soil near 
the coast. 
3. I. fulva Ker. YELLow Frac. Rootstock fleshy. Stem simple 
or branched, grooved, l-angled below, bearing 2-3 leaves, 2-3 ft. 
high. Leaves linear, sword-shaped, with a bloom, shorter than the 
stem; bracts small. Pedicels short, flowers axillary and terminal, 
dull yellow or reddish-brown, variegated with blue and green, peri- 
anth segments not bearded. Style branches but little exceeding the 
stamens; ovary about as long as the inflated perianth tube; capsule 
ovate, 6-angled. Swamps and wet places.* 
4. I. germanica L. Fieur-pr-Lis. Rootstock thick, matted. Stem 
stout, branched, leafy, 2-3 ft. high. Leaves strap-shaped, acute, erect, 
shorter than the stem; bracts scarious. Flowers sessile, large and 
showy, blue variegated with white and yellow, sometimes nearly all 
white; outer segments large, recurved, bearded, the inner narrower, 
erect, or arched inward. Introduced from Europe; common in gar- 
dens and naturalized in many places.* 
Ill. SISYRHINCHIUM L. 
Small, grass-like perennials. Stems erect, flattened, or 
winged. Roots fibrous. Leaves linear or lanceolate. Flowers 
small, blue, quickly withering, in terminal 2-bracted umbels. 
Perianth corolla-like, of 6 bristle-pointed segments; tube 
nearly or wholly lacking. Stamens 3, completely monadel- 
phous. Stigmas 3, thread-like. Fruit a nearly globular, 
3-angled capsule. Species too difficult for the beginner; all 
commonly known as Blue-Eyed Grass. 
13. ORCHIDACEZ. Orcuis FamiLty 
Perennial herbs with simple stems, often arising from bulbs 
or tubers. Leaves simple, usually alternate and entire. Flow- 
ers bisexual, generally showy, epigynous, zygomorphic, and 
often of extraordinary shapes. Perianth of 6 divisions. Sta- 
mens 1 or 2, united with the pistil; pollen of comparatively 
