NAT. ORDER. 
IridecB. 
GLADEOLUS TRISTIS. SaUARE-LEAVED CORN-FLAG, 
Class III. Triandria. Order I. Monogynia. 
Gen, Char. Corolla, six-parted. Stamens, ascending. Anthers, 
turned outwards. 
Spe. Char. Calyx and Corolla, superior. Stamens, three. Stig- 
mas, five. Style, one. 
LiNN^us gave to this species of Gladeolus the name o{ tristis, 
from the color of its flowers. The root is long, knotty, white, and 
fibrous ; the stalk is upright, square, bearded, and rises from three 
to six feet in height ; the calyx and corolla are both superior, and 
their divisions partly cohering, but are sometimes entirely separate, 
and very irregular ; the petals are very short ; the stamens are 
three, and arise from the base of the sepals ; the filaments are dis- 
tinct or cornate ; anthers bursting externally, lengthwise, fixed by 
their base, and two-celled ; the ovarium is three-celled, and the 
cells many-seeded ; style, one ; the stigmas are five in number, 
which are often petaoloid, and sometimes two-lipped ; the capsule 
is three-celled, three-valved, with a loculicidal dehiscence ; the 
seeds are attached to the inner angle of the cell, or to a central 
column, which becomes loose ; the albumen is corneous, or densely 
fleshy ; the embryo is enclosed within it. It flowers in April and 
May, and gives forth a most agreeable fragrance. This species is 
a native of the Cape of Good Hope, and other parts of Africa, 
but is cultivated in many parts of England. 
The leaves, which so characteristically distinguish this spe- 
cies, are highly deserving of notice. Instances of such rarely oc- 
cur, as the bulbs produce numerous offsets, and the plant is pro- 
Vol.U. —161. 
