NAT. ORDER. 
Iridece. 
IRIS SAMBUCINA. YELLOW OR PURPLE W VTER-FLAG, 
Class III. Triandria. Order I. Monogynia. 
Gen. Char. Corolla, six-petalled, unequal. Petals, alternate, 
jointed, and spreading. Stigmas, petal-form, cowled, two- 
lipped. 
Spe. Char. Corolla, beardless. Interior Petals, less than the stig- 
mas. Leaves, ensiform. 
The root is perennial, about half an inch in thickness, of an 
irregular shape, horizontal, on the outside blackish, covered with 
ridged fibres, and puts forth many long, whitish, perpendicular, 
slender roots, which within are spongy, and of a yellowish red 
color ; the leaves which grow from the root are uprighi, broad, 
sword-shaped, and at the bottom riding or closely embracing each 
other ; those on the stalk are short, alternate, and sheathe the join+^^s 
of {he stem ; the stalk is upright, round, smooth, alternately in- 
clined from joint to joint; the Jiowers are large, showy, of a pur- 
ple or yellow color, and stand upon short branches, which proceed 
from the joints of the stem; the corolla divides into six segments 
or petals ; of these the three inner ones are small and erect ; the 
three outside are large, of a roundish, oval shape, turning back, 
and painted near the base with reddish lines ; the calyx is a sheath, 
or spathe, of two, three, or four valves, according to the number 
of the flowers ; the filaments are flat and tapering ; the anthers 
are oblong, yellowish at the edges, purplish, and bent down by 
the stigmas ; the germen is triangular, and placed below the co- 
Vol. ii,— 149. 
