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ISMENE KNIGHTII. 



{Mi'. Knight's Ismene.) 

 LINNEAN SYSTEM. NATURAL ORDER. 



HEXANDRIA MONOGYNIA. AMARYLLIDACEjE. 



GENERIC CHARACTER. 



Ismene (Salisbury). Perianthium 6-partitum, laciniis angustis, linearibus, patulis ; tubus 

 curvatulus, cylindricus ; corona staminifera ; filamenta conniventia deflexa ; antherce modicse 

 infra medium affixaB penduhe; semina rotunda. — (Herbert.) 



Perianth 6-parted, segments narrow, linear, spreading ; tube a little curved, cylindrical ; 

 crown bearing the stamens ; filaments deflexedly comiiving ; anthers moderate in size, attached 

 immediately below the middle, pendulous ; seeds round. 



SPECIFIC CHARACTER. 



I. Knightii; foliis 8 vel 10, lineari-oblongis subacutis striatis basi carnosis dilatatis vix 

 vaginantibus ; scapo ancipiti subcompresso striato 10-12 floro foliis longiore ; germine sessili 

 inequaliter trigono angulis obtusis, loculis 1-2 spermis; spathd lanceolata. sphacelata; tubo 

 viridi subtrigono ; limbi laciniis lineari-lanceolatis ; corona patula rotata margine dentato-eroso ; 

 stylo filiformi subtrigono supra viridi ; stigmate obtuso. 



Leaves 8 or 10 linear-oblong, rather acute, striated, fleshy and dilated at the base, scarcely 

 sheathing ; scape 2-edged, rather compressed, striated, 10-12 flowered, longer than the leaves ; 

 germ sessile, unequally three-cornered, with obtuse angles, and cells with 1-2 seeds; spathe lan- 

 ceolate, withered ; tube green, rather three-cornered ; segments of the limb linear-lanceolate ; 

 crown spreading, rotate, with an irregularly-toothed margin ; style filiform, slightly three-cor- 

 nered, green above ; stigma obtuse. 



Descb. — Leaves from fifteen to twenty inches long, somewhat erect, from eight to ten in 

 number, and ranged around the flower-stem, which rises from the centre of the bulb, bearing an 

 umbel of from ten to twelve flowers ; segments of the perianth more than twice the length of 

 the crown ; filaments more than twice the length of the anthers ; style scarcely equal to the 

 perianth ; flowers of a snowy whiteness, exhaling a powerful and most delightful fragrance. 



The graceful form of this new and interesting plant, the dazzling whiteness 

 of its flowers, and the delicious odour which they emit, will, doubtless, render 

 it a universal favourite. It is in the fine collection of Mr. Knight, of King's 

 Road, Chelsea, where our drawing was made in March last. It is a native of 

 Florida, where it was found in March 1836, by Mr. Henry Knight, growing in 

 a swamp watered by the Alabama river, and within a mile of the city of Mobile. 



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