CXXXV. LILIACE^. 1625 



7. DRACAENA, Linn, 



(The inspissated juice of some'species resembling dragon's blood) 

 Perianth deciduous, tubular, straight, with 6 equal narrow lobes, as long as or 

 shorter than the tube. Stamens 6, inserted at the orifice of the tube, and not 

 exceeding the lobes ; filaments filiform or flattened ; anthers oblong, versatile,, 

 the cells opening in longitudii}a,l slits. Ovary sessile, short, 3-celled, with 1 erect 

 ovule in each cell ; style filiform, with a capitate obscurely 8-lobed stigma. Fruit. 

 a suculent indehiscent berry, with 3 cells and seeds, .or frequently 1 or 2 only by 

 abortion. Seeds thick and large, with a thin smooth testa closely adhering to 

 the hard albumen ; embryo usually small. — Shrubs or trees, the trunk and 

 branches marked by the annular scars of fallen leaves. Leaves at the ends of th& 

 branches long and narrow ,_ sessile or contracted info a petiole, dilated and stem- 

 clasping but scarcely sheathing at the base. Flowers in panicles or heads^ 

 articulate on the top of the pedicels. Bracts usually small, scarious, with a pair 

 of smaller bracteoles when the flower is solitary within the bract, several when 

 the flowers are clustered. 



A considerable genus, inhabiting the warmer regions of the Old World and including the 

 celebrated Dragon trees of Teneriffe. The only species found in Australia is widely spread over- 

 the Indo-Australian region. 



1. a. augustifolia (leaves narrow), Roxb. Baker in Journ. Linn. Soc. js.iv^ 

 526 ; Benth. Fl. Anstr. vii. 20. Stems much branched and slender but woody, 

 attainining 6 to 20ft. in height. Leaves rather crowded under the terminal 

 panicle. Sin. to nearly 1ft. long, ^ to lin. broad, ending in a fine point, shortly 

 contracted at the base but not distinctly petiolate nor sheathing. Panicle ^ t& 

 1ft. long; with few branches, the pedicels 2 to 3 lines long, very slender, usually 

 clustered 2 or 3 together along the branches. Bracts and bracteoles smalL 

 Perianth narrow, white or greenish, about fin. long, the lobes linear, rather 

 longer than the tube. Stamens attached about the middle of the tube, th«^ 

 anthers much shorter than the filiform filaments. Fruit |-in. diameter or rather 

 more, pulpy inside with 1, 2 or 3 large seeds. — Cordyline Piumphii, F. v. M. 

 Fragm. v. 194, but not the plant figured under that name in Bot. Mag. t. 4279 ; 

 Dracana reflexa, F. v. M. Fragm. vi. 120, but not the Mauritius plant to which 

 Lamarck gave that name. 



Hab.: Barnard and Fitzroy Islands, 21/' GiWiin'o)/ ; Cape York, Daemel ; and the Islands ot 

 Torres Strait. 



8. CORDYLINE, Comm. 



(Referring to the club-like form of the stems of some species.) 



Perianth deciduous, tubular, straight, with 6 narrow lobes, usually longer 

 than the tube, all equal or the 3 outer ones rather shorter. Stamens 6, inserted 

 at the base of the lobes and shorter than them or scarcely longer ; filaments 

 filiform or flattened ; anthers narrow- oblong, the cells opening in longitudinal 

 slits. Ovary sessile, short, 3-celled, with several (4 to 16) ovules in each cell,, 

 superposed in 2 rows ; style filiform, with a capitate or shortly 3-lobed stigma. 

 Fruit nearly globular, 3-eelIed, without pulp, but the pericarp more or less- 

 succulent, often becoming quite dry when fully ripe, indehiscent or more or l^ss 

 opening loculicidally in 3 valves. Seeds several in each cell, or solitary by 

 abortion, variously but usually curved, th.e testa crustaceous, black and shining ;. 

 albumen waxy ; embryo curved and sometimes nearly as long as the albumen. — 

 Shrubs or trees, the branches marked by the annular sears of the fallen leaves. 

 Leaves crowded under the panicle or more or less spread along the branches^ 

 long and narrow or short and broad, petiolate or nearly sessile, with short 



