HEXANDRIA MONOGYNIA 219 



r Obs. Generally cultivated, for its young shoots?- tcluch afford a favorite dish, 

 in the spring. A strong and peculiar odor is imparted to the urine, by eating them. 

 There has been no native species found in the U» States. 



172. ORNITHOGALUM. L. Nutt. Gen. 323. 

 [Greek, Ornis, ornithos, a bird, and G'o/a, milk ; an ancient whimsical name.] 



Perianth deeply 6-parted ; segments spreading above the middle. 

 Stamens hypogynous ; filaments dilated at base. Ovary superior. 

 Capsule roundish, angular, 3-celled. Seeds roundish. 



Herbaceous : root bulbiferous; leaves radical; scape naked, corymbose, or 

 racemose. Nat. Ord. 247. Lindl. Asphodele/e. 



1. 0. umbellatum, L. Corymb few-flowered ; peduncles longerthan 

 the bracts; filaments subulate. Beck,Bot. p. 362. 



Umbellate Ounitiiogalum. Vulgo — Ten o'clock. 



Gall.— Dame d'onze heures. Germ— Die Vogelmilch. Ilisp. Ornitogalo. 



Bulbs perennial ? small, white. Leaves 6 to 10 or 12 inches long, narrow, linear, 

 channelled, very smooth. Scape 6 to 8 or 10 inches high, terete, smooth. Peduncles 

 alternate, corymbose, 1 to2 inches Long! each wiiJi a membranaceous linear-lance- 

 olate acuminate bract at base. Perianth divided to the base ; scg?nc7its lance- 

 oblong, white within, green externally, with a white margin. Ovary trigonous- 

 turbinate, often abortive. 



If.ib. Pastures, and cultivated grounds: frequent. Fl. May— June. Ft. July. 



Obs. This foreigner has escaped from the gardens, and has become a grievouf 

 nuisance on many farms. Although it rarely perfects its fruit, the bulbs are pro- 

 pagated laterally with great rapidity ; and are extremely difficult to extirpate. 

 One native species lias been found in the U. States, on the Rocky Mountains. 



173. HYPOXIS. /,. Jfult. Gen. 314. 

 £Gr. Iljpo, beneath, and oxys % sharp ; alluding to the pointed base of the capsule.] 



Perianth 6-partcd, persistent. Ovarii inferior. Capsule elongated, 

 narrowed at base, 3-cellcd, many-seeded. Seeds roundish, naked. 



Herbaceous : leaves radical, grass-like ; scape few-flowered. Nat. Ord. 235. 

 Lindl. HYroxiDE.K. 



I, II. EnECTA, /_,. Pilose ; leaves lancc-lincar, acuminate, longer than 

 the scape; scape about 4-flowcred, subumbcllate. Beck, JBot. p. 355. 

 Icon, Bart. Am % 1. tab. 35. f. 1. 



II. carolinensis. Jtfx. Am. 1. p. 188. 



Also, H. graminea. Pursh, Am. I. p. 224. var. graminea. Eat. Man. 

 p. 185. ^v^/- 



Erect Htpoxis. Vulgo — Star of Bethlehem. 



Root perennial, tuberous, with many coarse fibres. Leaves 9 to 15 inches long, 

 grass-like, keeled, nerved, tapering to a subulate point, sprinkled with long hairs. 

 Sape 4 to 8 or 10 inches high, slender, nerved, pilose, mostly 4-flowered (some- 

 times 1 or 2 flowered); pedirels corymbose, or subumbellale, unequal, half an inch 

 D an inch or more in length, silky-villose, bracteate at base; bracts subulate, 

 keeled, scarious on the rSargin. Perianth bright yellow within, hairy and yellow- 

 ish green externally ; segments lance-oblong, rather obtuse, spreading. Stamens 

 much shorter than the perianth; anthers incumbent, bind at each end. Sty!$ 



