NATURAL ARRANGEMENT. 



539 



453. Order CXCV. ASPHODITLEJE. 



Genera 51, Species 519; Hot-house Species 32; Green-house Species 267; Hardy Ligneous Species 0; 

 Hardy Herbaceous Species 220. £ 0 feet ; £ 29 feet ; 0 feet. 

 Different from Hemerocalli'dese in their expanded flowers and dark crustaceous seed-coat ; the only 

 characters which have yet been discovered to distinguish them. The species are all pretty, many very hand, 

 some, some bulbous, some with fasciculated roots, a few with arborescent stems. They are uncommon in 

 tropical countries, very abundant in temperate latitudes, and not unfrequent in the cooler regions of the world. 

 Among the prettiest are Gagea, Scilla, and Hyacinth us ; the least interesting are Chlorophytum and Zuccagnia. 

 Asparagus and Dracae % na have berried fruits ; the former is diuretic, and when young is employed as a favourite 

 food ; the same properties are possessed by Scilla and Allium. The stamens of Arthropodium are remarkable 

 for their tuft of yellow hairs, of Dianella for the thickening of the filaments. Many of the Alliums are very 

 pretty, and admired notwithstanding their unpleasant odour ; their roots are all eatable, and those of some 

 among the most useful articles of food. Thysanbtus, the fringed violet of New Holland, has rich purple 

 blossoms, with long delicate fringes which sparkle in the sun, as if continually bedewed with minute particles 

 of water. From Ph6rmium tenax the strong fibrous substance called New Zealand flax is prepared. Xan- 

 thorrha? r a has an arborescent stem which abounds in resin. Offsets and cuttings. 



1061 yfsphodelus L. 0 8 



1059 Eremurus Bieb. 0 1 



1062 Czackia Andr. 0 1 



1063 Phalangium Mx. 0 3 



1064 Anthericum L. *0 2 



1060 Pulbine W. en. 0 2 



1065 Arthropodium R. Br. 



1066 Stypandra R. Br. 



1068 CsT&ia R. Br. 



1069 Tricoryne R. Br 



1067 Chlorophytum Ker 

 1057 Puschkinia Adams 

 1056 Barnard/7* Lindl. 

 1047 Albuca L. 



1053 Ornithogalum L. *0 12 

 1052 Gagea Sal. *0 16 



1054 Scilla L. *0 25 



1080 7/yaci'nthus L. 

 1079 Uropetalon Ker 



1081 Zuccagnia Thun. 

 1055 Bellevaba Lap. 



1082 Muscari Desf. 



1083 Lachenal/a Jac. 



1077 Drimia Jac. 



1078 Millea Cav. 

 1051 Eriospermum Jac. 

 1058 MassbmVi L. 

 1042 Eucomis Herit. 

 1046 Allium L. 

 3582 Leucocoryne Lindl. 

 3338 Hesperose6rdium Lindl. 

 3283 Triteleia Lindl. 



1045 Sowerb^ v fl Sm. 

 1049 Laxmanm'a R. Br. 



*0 121 



1044 Aphyllanthes L. 

 1050 Thysanbtus P. Br. 

 1085 Cyanella L. 

 980 Conanthera Fl. per. 

 3336 Cummingirt D. Don 



1071 Dianella Ker 

 1076 Luzuriaga Fl. per. 



1073 Edstrephus R. Br. 

 1109 Myrsiphyllum W. 



1074 Asparagus L. 



1075 Herrer/a R. & P. 

 1021 Phylloma Haw. 

 1020 Dracaena L. 

 1019 Charlwo6dz'« Swt. 



1072 Cordyline R. Br. 

 1084 Phormium L. 

 1048 Xanthorrhce^a Sm. 



454. Order CXCVL TULIPA^CE^E. 

 Genera 8, Species 112 ; Hot-house Species 3 ; Green-house Species 12; Hardy Ligneous Species 9; 

 Hardy Herbaceous Species 88. f_ 12± feet ; £ 23 feet ; *= 0 feet. 

 It is doubted whether several of the preceding orders are not rather sections of this; until, however, the 

 combination of these shall be effected by some hand yet more masterly than those by which they have been 

 divided, it is best to let them remain as they are. The beauty of the plants composing the Liliacea?, strictly 

 so called, is universally acknowledged ; the rich colors of the branching lilies, the vivid hues of the painted 

 tulip, the modest graces of the humble Erythroniums, and the portly forms of the Yuccas are all attractions 

 of which no good garden should be destitute. The species are all inhabitants of either cold or temperate 

 latitudes. Offsets. 



1027 Yucca L. 9 6 1 3337 Cvclobothra Siot. | 1029 Gloribsa L. 



1017 Tulipa L. *0 20 3339 Calochbrtus Ph. 1028 Erythrbnium L. 0 5 



1018 Fritillaria L. *0 24 | 1016 iilium L. 0 33 | 



455. Order CXCVII. MELANTHA v CE^. 



Genera 22, Species 73; Hot-house Species 2 ; Green-house Species 25 ; Hardy Ligneous Species 0; 

 Hardy Herbaceous Species 46. ± 0 feet ; £ 13 feet ; * 0 feet. 



These, too, are pretty herbs, although destitute of the grandeur of the preceding, which, however, they far 

 surpass in the potency of their virtues. The flowers of many are inconspicuous, and of a dull green or yellow 

 color, sometimes assuming a livid hue, which will bespeak the nature of their powers. A dangerous or 

 poisonous acrid juice is their characteristic, which is particularly active in some of them, such as the C61- 

 chicum and reratrum. The roots of the former are the basis of the eau m^dicinale, and are now used in 

 cases of gout with much success. The root of reratrum is believed to have been the hellebore of the ancients, 

 an active drug, which, administered in small doses, is a drastic purgative, in more abundance a violent emetic. 

 The root of Anguillaria dioica, infused in water, is anthelmintic, but, steeped in spirits, yields a bitter and tonic 

 tincture. The leaves of Colchicum and reratrum often produce vomiting and severe pain in the animals 

 that eat them ; the flowers of the first are also said to be poisonous, and its seeds to possess the same properties 

 as the roots, but in a milder degree. Groves and pastures in Europe and Siberia and North America are the 

 most frequented by Melanthacea?, several are found at the Cape, and Gloriosa is a native of the woods of 

 middle Africa. Division and i 



1031 Bulbocbdium L. 



1119 Colchicum L. 



1120 Merendira Bieb. 



1032 Uvulariai. 



1033 Disporum Sal. 

 1036 Schelhammerrz R. Br. 

 1035 Burchantfa R. Br. 

 1112 Anguillaria R. Br. 



456. Order CXCVIII. BROMELI A X CE,E. 



Genera 12, Species 100 ; Hot-house Species 96 ; Green-house Species 4 ; Hardy Ligneous Species 0 ; 

 Hardy Herbaceous Species 0. $ 0 feet ; £ 0 feet ; =t 0 feet. 

 Of these the eatable pine-apple is the representative, from which the other genera differ more in the want of 

 a fleshy fruit than in general appearance. Their habit is acid, their leaves rigid and toothed with spines, and 

 covered with minute scales, their bractea: often colored with scarlet, and their flowers either white or blue. 

 They are all natives of tropical countries, with the exception of Tillandsio, which, in the humid woods of 

 Carolina, forms dense festoons among the branches of the trees; this, like many others of the order, is an 

 epiphyte, vegetating among the black mould that collects upon the bark of trees in hot damp countries ; others 

 are inhabitants of deep and gloomy forests ; and others form, with their spiny leaves, an impenetrable herbage 

 in the extensive pampas of Buenos Ayres and Brazil. From the Agave mexicana a fermented beverage is 

 prepared, from which a strong colorless spirit, resembling the best Scotch whisky, is distilled. Suckers and 

 crowns. 



948 Agave L. I 952 Anandssa Thun. 956 Tillandsm L. 



949 Furcrce N a Ven. 953 Guzmanwm Fl. per. 957 Billbergia Thun. 



950 Litte'a Brig. 1 954 Pitcairm'a Herit. 958 Caraguata Plu. 



951 Bromeh'a L. I 955 Pourretm R. & P. 947 Bonaparte^ Fl. per. 



0 



2 



1113 Ornithoglbssum Sal. 







1122 Nolina Mx. 



0 



1 



*0 



12 



1117 Androcymbium L. 







2840 Leimanthium Mx. 



0 



3 



0 



1 



1111 Melanthium L. 



0 



2 



2839 Teratrum L. 



0 



5 



0 



6 



1116 Wurm&ert Thun. 







2792 Chamffilirium W. 



0 



1 







1110 Tofielctfa Hud. 



*0 



5 



1043 Peliosanthes Andr. 











1115 Xerophyllum Mx. 



0 



3 



1108 Lichtensteinw W. 











1121 HelbniasZ,. 



0 



3 



1030 Zigadenus Mx. 



0 



2 



