AMARTLLIDACE^. (AMARYLLIS FAMILY.) 513 



1. AMAR'i'LLIS.L. § ZEPHYRANTHES, Herb. Amaeyllis. 



Perianth funnel-form, from a tubular base ; the 6 divisions petal-like and 

 similar, spreading above ; the 6 stamens inserted in its naked throat : anthers 

 versatile. Pod membranaceous, 3-lobed. — Leaves and scape from a coated 

 bulb. Flowers 1 or 2, from a 1 - 2-leaved spathe. (A poetical name.) 



1. A. Atam^SCO, L. (Atamasco Lily.) Spathe 2-cleft at the apex; 

 perianth white and pink ; stamens and style declined. — Penn. {Muhl.) Virginia, 

 and southward. June. — Flower 3' long, on a scape 6' high. 



2. PANCBATIUM, L. Pancbatium. 



Perianth with a long and slender tube, and an equal 6-parted limb ; the lobes 

 long and narrow, recurved ; the throat bearing a tubular or cup-shaped coroUine 

 delicate crown, which connects the bases of the 6 exserted stamens. Anthers 

 linear, versatile. Pod thin, 2 - 3-lobed, with a few fleshy seeds, often like bulb- 

 lets. — Spapcs and leaves from a coated bulb. Flowers large and showy in an 

 umbel-like head or cluster, leafy-bracted. (Name composed of jrdv, all, and 

 KpaTvs, powerful, from fancied medicinal properties.) 



1. P. rot^tum, Ker. Leaves ascending, strap-shaped (l°-2° long); 

 scape few-flowered ; the handsome (white and fragrant) flower with a spreading 

 large 12-toothed crown, the alternate teeth bearing the filaments. (Hymeno- 

 callis rotata, Herbert.) — Marshy banks of streams, Kentucky, Virginia, and 

 southward. May. — Flowers opening at night or in cloudy weather. 



3. AGAV£, L. American Aloe. 



Perianth tubular-funnel-form, persistent, 6-parted ; the divisions nearly equal, 

 narrow. Stamens 6 : anthers linear, versatile. Pod coriaceous, many-seeded. 

 Seeds flattened. — Leaves thick and fleshy, often with cartilaginous or spiny 

 teeth, clustered at the base of the many-flowered scape, from a thick fibrous- 

 robted crown. (Named altered from dyavos, wonderful, not inappropriate as 

 applied to A. Americana, the Centuhy-plant.) 



1. A. Virglnica, L. (False Aloe.) Herbaceous; leaves entire ; scape 

 simple (3° -6° high) ; the flowers scattered in a loose wand-like spike, greenish- 

 yellow, fragrant. — Dry or rocky banks, Penn.? Virginia to Illinois {Mr. Lum- 

 mis), and southward. Sept. 



4. HYPOXYS, L. Stae-geass. 



Perianth persistent, 6-parted, spreading ; the 3 outer divisions a little herba- 

 ceous outside. Stamens 6 : anthers sagittate, erect. Pod crowned with the' 

 withered or closed perianth, not opening by valves. Seeds globular, with a 

 crustaceous co.at, ascending, imperfectly anatropons, the rhaphe not adherent 

 quite down to the micropyle, the persistent seed-stalk thus forming a sort of 

 lateral beak. Radicle inferior ! — Stemless small herbs, with grassy and hairy 

 linear leaves and slender few-flowered scapes, from a solid bulb. (Name com- 

 posed of iiTTo, beneath, and ojvs , sharp, it is thought because the pod is acute 

 at the base.) 



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