352 
still less admissible ; and secondly, that Paris, which Brown admits into his 
SmUacese has a leathery testa ; Streptopus moreover, which is expressly named 
by this distinguished botanist as one of his Smilaceae, has the embryo next 
the hilum ; so that the characters of that order, as proposed by Brown, 
break down in all directions. Barthng who retains Smilaceae, adds to the 
distinction of the order a minute embryo, but then he admits such genera as 
Asparagus and Drymophila, in which the embryo is the same as that of Aspho- 
deleae. Bernhardi in recently characterizing Tuhpaceae, does not appear to 
me to have been more happy, for he points out nothing of any importance to 
keep apart the genera he assembles under that name, beyond what may suf- 
fice for a sectional distinction. And in reality when one casts an eye over 
the genera of Liliacese, as I now propose to understand the order, they do 
appear to be so closely connected with each other by a comphcated inter- 
change of resemblances and differences, that the fructification will furnish 
nothing for even sectional characters of which any use can be advantageously 
made. It is very much to be desired that this were carefully looked into by 
some botanist of leisure and good general views ; for until this is done, and 
until the whole series of hypogynous orders is skilfully revised, it seems to 
me better to abandon characterizing the sections of Liliacese otherwise than 
by their peculiarities of vegetation, which seem to me to be by far the most 
solid on which to rely for natural groups. I therefore propose until something 
better can be struck out, the following sections ; in which we advance from 
the most simple to the most highly developed cases of organization in the 
organs of vegetation. 
§ 1.* Tulipe^. Bulbous. Sepals and petals scarcely adhering in a tube. 
Seedcoat soft and pale. 
§ 2. Heme ROC ALLiDE^. Bulbous. Sepals and petals united into a tube. 
Seedcoat soft and pale. 
§ 3. SciLLE^. Bulbous. Flowers usually smaller than in the preceding, 
and the seed coat black and brittle. 
§ 4. Antherice^. Not bulbous. Stem if developed erect. Roots fas- 
cicled or fibrous. Leaves never coriaceous and permanent. 
§ 5. CoNVALLARiN^. Stem developed as a rhizoma or tuber. 
§ 6. Asparage^. Stem usually fully developed, often arborescent, some- 
times branched, sometimes twining. Leaves in the stemless species often 
coriaceous and permanent. 
§ 7. Aloin.e. Stem usually fuUy developed, sometimes arborescent. 
Leaves succulent. 
Liliacese as here understood, difier from Melanthaceae in their anthers not 
bursting at their back, and by their fruit not being apocarpous ; from Ponte- 
deracese in the aestivation of the petals. With other orders their relation will 
be explained in the proper places. 
Geography. Scattered widely over the world ; but much more abun- 
dant in temperate climates than in the tropics, where they chiefly exist in 
an arborescent state. Aloes are mostly found in the southern parts of 
Africa. One species is a native of the West Indies, and two or three more 
of Arabia and the East. Dracaenas, the most gigantic of the order, attain 
their largest size in the. Canaries. A Dracaena Draco is described in the 
Annales des Sciences, 14. 140. as being between 70 and 75 feet high, 46^ feet 
in cucumference at the base, and it was known to have been a very ancient 
tree in the year 1496. The northern Flora comprehends for the most part 
plants of the genera Scilla, Hyacinthus, Allium, and Ornithogalum. In the 
East Indies Liliaceae are rare,; in New Holland they form a distinctly marked 
feature of the vegetation. 
Properties. The bulbs of Lilium pomponium are roasted and eaten in 
