XYRIDEiE. 525 



11. C. persicarifolia, DO. Ascending, glabrous; leaves oUoug-lanceolate, acumi- 

 nate, oblique above the minutely contracted base : sheath closed, rnsty-cUiate ; bract condu- 

 flicate, orbicular with a minute point, ciliate at the base : both special peduncles flowered ; 

 " corolla blue, subeqnal"— iJeii. Lil. 8. i. 472.— 1 '-14' high ; leaves 3''-5" lorfg ; bract 1" 

 diam. : one of the special peduncles exserted. — Hab. Trinidad !, Cr. ; [Cuba !]. 



12. C. elegans, Zth. Bififuse, puberulous ; leaves elliptical-lanceolate or lanceolate, 

 pointed, contracted at the base : sheath ciliate ; bract turbinate-cucullate, with a deltoid 

 point : one of the special peduncles abortive ; corolla blue or white, unequal ; seeds smooth. 

 —Mart. Fl. Bras. 15. t. 37./. 2 : «ra«/yt— Leaves 14"-3" long ; bract 8"'-10"' diam. ; 

 larger petals 4'" long. — Hab, Jamaica !, ilarch, Wullschl. ; Antigua I, W-ullschl. ; Trinidad !, 

 Cr. ; [Cuba 1 to Brazil]. 



6. RAPATBA, AuH. 



Calyx surrounded by imbricated, scaly bracts. Corolla 3-lobed. Stamens 6, inserted 

 into the corolla : anthers with a terminal appendage. Ovary 3-celled : cells 1-ovulate. 

 Capsule membranaceous, 3-valved. — Stemless bog-plants ; leaves rosular, distichxms, ensate ; 

 flower-heads or umbels supported by a 2-partile, compressed involucre ; corolla yellow. 



13. R. paludosa, Aubl. Scape compressed, 2-winged towards the thickened summit ; 

 leaves linear-lanceolate, narrowly acuminate, long-tapering at the base; segments of the in- 

 volucre subulate, exceeding the umbel ; bracts oblong, acuminate ; anthers linear ; appen- 

 dage purple.— .4 Mii. t. 118. — Leaves 2'-5' long, exceeding the scape. — Hab. Trinidad!, Cr., 

 in swampy woods ; [Guiana ! to Brazil], 



(JXXXIII. XYEIDE^. 



Mowers complete. Stamens 3, epipetalous or hypogynons. Ovary free ; ovules co , atro- 

 pous. Capsule 3-valved. Albumen amylaceous :' embryo free at its summit. — Rush-like 

 herbs ; flowers usually in heads. 



, 1. XYRIS, Z. 



Sepals 3, glumaceous : 2 keeled, the third clasping, deciduous. Petals 3, cohering by 

 their slender claws. Stamens epipetalous, alternating with plumose (-2-fid) sterile filaments : 

 anthers extrorse. Style 3-fid. Capsule 1 -celled .—Leaves most rosular, ensate; flowers m 

 heads : single floviers in the axils of coriaceous bracts. 



Sect. 1. EuxTBis, ISndl. — Capsule medianicide: seeds very numerous, along the middle . 



line of the valves. 

 1. X. communis, Kth. Glabrous ; stem 1 -angled, subcompressed at the thickened 

 summit ■ leaves grass-like, linear -acuminate, with a hluntish point, exceeded by the stem; 

 head oioii, many-flowered: bracts obovate roundish, shining, entire: dorsal area ovate; 

 keel of the lateral sepals viUous-ciliate above.— jlforf. Fl. Bras. 15. t-Jf-~}- Sellowiana, 

 Kth. X. laxifolia, Mart.—V-Z' high ; leaves somewhat flaccid, 4"'-2'" broad ,- corolla yel- 

 low.— Hab. Trinidad t, Pd., Lockh., Cr., in all moist savannahs; [Venezuela! to Monte- 

 video !], 



Sect. 2. Nematopus, Seub.— Seeds free from the capsule-valves: funiculi erect, central. 



2 X glabrata, Gr. Nearly glabrous; stem filiform, angular, much, longer than the 

 leaves; 'leaves narrowly linear, a.cx>.mma.ie : sheath often with marginal wool at its base; 

 Aearf globose-ovoid, i-S-flowered : bracts oval, bluntish or emargmate-mucronate, shghtiy 

 lacerate along the margin : the lanceolate dorsal area of the interior ones conhned to the 

 upper part; k«el of the lateral sepals hispidulous-lacerate above.-X ameneana K (^ 

 descr., nan Aubl.) X. savanensis, 3. glabrata,S««.-Distinguished from the similar Z. 

 savanensis, Miq., by the smooth leaves and the interior bracts ^^°^'^^}^rCf^'''J' 

 not entire 12"-8" high, 1-leaved above the base; rosular leaves 3-4 long, -j 4 

 Cad; head 2''' long: corolla-lobes obliquely spathulate.-HAB. Trinidad !, &., Savannah de 

 Aripa; [Gniana, Brazil]. ^tui, 



