OXXXI. AMARYLLIDB^. 1605 



■only 1 or 2 ovules in each cell, amphifcropous anatropous or rarely orthotropous, 

 attached to an axile placenta, or rarely the ovary reduced to 1 cell by the 

 abortion of 2 carpels or by the obliteration of the dissepiment. Fruit usually a 

 ■capsule, opening loculicidally either at the free apex only or to the base in 3 

 •valves, rarely succulent and indehiscent, or bursting irregularly. Seeds 

 albuminous, with a small or linear embryo, the radicle near to or more or less 

 •distant from the hilum. — Herbs with a perennial short or tuberous or creeping 

 rhizome, or bulbous base. Leaves mostly radical, or nearly so, the sheathing 

 base either distichous or imbricate or bulbous, the lamina entire, usually narrow 

 with contiguous parallel veins, either laterally compressed (equitant), terete, 

 •channelled or fiat, rarely broad with distant primary veins and transverse 

 veinlets. Scapes or flowering stems terminal, leafless or with one or more 

 jsheathing bracts or leaves much smaller than the radical ones, with a single 

 terminal flower or more frequently with several or many flowers either in a 

 terminal umbel surrounded by 2 or more membranous or coloured bracts, or few 

 in a terminal raceme or many in a terminal thyrsus or panicle, each branch and 

 •each flower subtended by a bract, the inflorescence usually centripetal. Perianths 

 glabrous or hairy, most frequently white, yellow or red. 



The Order is generally distributed over the warmer and temperate regions of the globe, most 

 ■aTjundant in dry, sunny countries. 



Tribe I. Kypozideae. — Perianth hairy or rarely glabrous. Stigmas or stigmatic lobes 

 large, free m' connate. Ovules many, in 2 roios in each cell. Seeds with a crtistaceous testa, 

 ■the hilum produced into a hooked beak. Leaves horizontally flattened or terete, t'lowers in 

 u simple spike or raceme or solitary. 



J?lo-wers solitary or tew in a loose pedunculate raceme. Perianth divided 



to the ovary into spreading segments . . 1. Htpoxis. 



Flowers sessile within sheathing or imbricate bracts in a dense spike. 



Perianth usually with a long tube 2. Ctjrculigo. 



Tribe II. Amaryllideae. — Perianth glabrous. Stigmas small. Bulbous plants. Leaves 

 iiorizontally flat, channelled or terete. Flowers umbellate or rarely solitary on leafless scapes. 



Uo corona. Flowers large. Ovules several, in 2 rows in each cell .... 3. Cbindm. 

 'Filament connected below the middle by a corona. 



Ovary 3-eelled, with 2 ovules in each cell. Leaves broad, with distant 



primary veins 4. Eueycles. 



Ovary 1-celled, with 2 ovules. Leaves narrow with close veins, or broad 



with distant primary veins 5. Calostejima. 



Teibe III. Ag'a'veae. — Perianth glabrous. Stigma small. Tall often uioody plants, not 

 bulbous. Leaves horizontally flat, channelled. Inflorescence compound. 



Jtadical leaves very numerous. Flowers lar^e, red or pale, in terminal 



depressed or thyrsoid panicles 6. Dohyanthes. 



1. HYPOXIS, Linn. 



(Alluding to the capsule being elongated at the base.) 



Perianth persistent, divided to the ovary into 6 rarely 4 nearly equal spreading 

 •segments. Stamens 6, rarely 4, inserted at the base of the segments ; anthers 

 oblong or linear, more or less lobed at the base. Ovary 3-celled, rarely 2-celled, 

 with many ovules in 2 rows in each cell. Style short, with 3, rarely 2, oblong or 

 linear erect stigmas connate or free, papillose outside. Capsule globular oblong 

 or linear, crowned by the persistent perianth, which usually but not always at 

 length falls off, carrying with it the top of the capsule, this then bursts into 

 ■8 valves and scatters the seeds. Seeds globular, with a crustaceous tubercular 

 testa, the hilum prominent and hooked. — Herbs with bulbous or tuberous 

 rhizomes, covered with sheathing membranous or fibrous scales. Leaves radical, 

 flat or terete, usually hairy. Scape leafless or ■with a single sheathing leaf. 

 Flowers white or yellow, solitary or few in a short raceme. 



The genus is spread over tropical Asia and Africa, more abundant in South Africa, with two 

 or three American species. 



