Plate 55. 
SISYKINCHIUM FILIFOLIUM. 
Family, Iride^ :— Nerves of the leaf usually more or less parallel. 
Parts of the flower usually in twos or threes. Perianth petaloid, 
united below into a tube. Stamens 3. 
Genus, Sisyrinchium :— Eoots springing from a short rhizome. Leaves 
narrow, springing from root or base of stem, very few from upper 
part of stem. Flowers on slender stalks surrounded by spathes. 
Perianth tube bell-shaped. Stamens fixed to the base of perianth. 
Anthers erect or swinging. Styles slender. Ovary 3-celled, 
with many ovules in each. Fruit a globose capsule, opening into 
3 valves. 
Sisyrinchium filifolium, Gaud. (" Pale Maiden.") Plant 
slender, about 12 or 14 in. high. Stem round, leafy at base. 
Leaves few, very narrow, pointed. Spathe 2-5 in. long. 
Flowers in a terminal cluster of 2-8, about 1 in. across, bell- 
shaped, scented. Perianth segments white with purplish 
veins. Filaments united at base. Styles 3, slender. Capsule 
orange-brown, with 3-6 seeds in each cell. 
Hooker says of this plant :— " One of the most abundant 
and elegant plants in the Falkland Islands, where the grassy 
plains are, in the spring month of November, almost whitened 
by the profusion of its pendulous, snowy bells." 
Description of plate:—!, portion of plant; 2, perianth segment; 
3, stamens and pistil ; 4, stamen ; 5, portion of plant in fruit ; 6,°section 
of fruit ; 7, seed. All except 1 and 5 enlarged. 
