ASPHODELEiE. 207 



Schollera. Schreb. 3. 1. 



Spathe 1 -flowered ; tube of the flower very long and slender, 



with the limb deeply 6-parted ; capsule 1 -celled. It is the genus 



Leptanthus of Mx., named from the Greek for slender flower ; 



named Schollera in honor of a German botanist, F. A. Scholler. 



£. graminea. Vahl. Grows in waters, grass-like, slender, 

 with a stem 6 - S inches long ; leaves sessile, linear, grassy ; 

 spathe 1 or 2-flowered ; flowers bright-yellow ; July. 



ORDER 247. ASPHODELEiE. 



One floral envelope, forming the corolla of the Linnaean bot- 

 anists, 6-parted or 6-cleft, regular, after bursting forth from a 

 spathe or closely-enclosing leafy or membranous covering ; sta- 

 mens 6 on the perianth or corolla ; ovary superior, 3-celled ; fruit 

 mostly a 3-celled, 3-valved capsule ; leaves with parallel veins. 



The members of this family are widely spread over the world, 

 especially in the temperate climes. Many are cultivated for their 

 great beauty ; some for use or food. A gummy juice, containing 

 a little stimulant in very variable proportions, is common to many 

 species, and forms valuable gums, as aloes, gum-dragon, &c. 



Asphodelus. L. 6. 1. 

 Named from its unsurpassed beauty. 



A. luteus, L., and A. ramosus, L. King's Spear. Have been 

 considered beautiful garden plants ; from the South of Europe ; 

 the former has 3-sided leaves, and the latter has sword-form 

 leaves. 



Ornithogalum. L. 6. 1. Star of Bethlehem. 



No known reason for its name, from the Greek, for bird and 

 milk. 



O. umbellatum. L. A handsome spring plant of the gar- 

 dens, with fine flowers ; from England. Naturalized in some 

 places. 



