122 



LILIACEiE. 



Milton (San Joaquin Valley) and northward to the upper Sacra- 

 mento. May. 



13. ZYGADENUS Michx. Zygadene. 

 Stem simple, scape-like, in ours from a tunicated bulb. Herbage 

 glabrous and somewhat glaucous. Leaves linear, mostly radical. 

 Flowers erect, greenish-white, rather large, in a raceme or panicle. 

 Perianth nearly rotate, withering-persistent; segments ovate to 

 oblong-lanceolate, with a green glandular spot at the narrow but 

 scarcely clawed base. Stamens free from the segments and about 

 equaling them. Styles distinct, persistent. Capsule deeply 3-lobed. 

 ( Greek zugon, a yoke, and aden, a gland.) 



Stamens y 2 as long as the perianth; only inner segments contracted to a broad 



claw 1. Z. Fremonti. 



Stamens equaling the perianth; segments all contracted to a short claw .... 



2. Z. venenosus. 



1. Z. Fremonti Torr. Star Zygadexe. Bulb globose or 

 broadly oblong, £ to in. long, with dark coats; stem glabrous or 

 rarely somewhat pubescent, commonly 1^ to 2\ ft. high; radical 

 leaves 8 to 20 in. long, 5 to 9 lines broad, usually somewhat falcate- 

 curving; cauline leaves few T , the lower 1 or 2 mostly 5 or 6 in. long 

 and usually shortly sheathed at base; flowers few to many in a raceme 

 or panicle, with mostly green bracts; lower pedicels 1 to If in. long; 

 segments 3 to 7 lines long, the outer not clawed, the inner contracted 

 to a broad claw; gland greenish-yellow, toothed on its upper margin; 

 stamens about half as long as the segments; styles short; ovules 10 to 

 20 or more in each cell; capsule oblong, 6 to 10 lines long. 



Variable species common among bushes in the Coast Kanges. 

 Apr -June. The var. minor H. & A. is an early dwarf form, 4 or 5 

 in. high, with few flowers, and is found in open wet ground near the 

 c oast. 



2. Z. venenosus Wats. Hog's Potato. Bulb oblong-ovate, 

 about 4 to 6 lines in diameter; plants \ to 2 ft. high; leaves narrowly 

 linear, 1 to 2} lines broad, carinate and usually folded, scabrous on 

 the margin; raceme commonly simple and narrow, 3 to 5 or 10 in. 

 long, the bracts setaceous-acuminate; perianth segments triangular- 

 ovate to elliptical, 2 or 3 lines long, all abruptly contracted to a short 

 claw; gland irregular on its upper side but not toothed; stamens 

 nearly equaling the segments; capsules on erect pedicels, often 

 contracted at apex. 



Common in meadows near the coast from Monterey northward and 

 in the Sierra Nevada from Yosemite northward. 



14. VERATRUM L. False Hellerokk. 

 Stems tall and leafy from short thick rootstocks, bearing coarse 

 fibrous roots. Leaves broad, plaited, coarsely nerved. Stem and 

 inflorescence pubescent. Flowers polygamous, greenish or cream- 

 color, in a terminal panicle. Perianth of 6 distinct obovate-oblong 

 segments, somewhat contracted at the base, adnate to the base of the 



