88 
DESCRIPTION OF MEDICINAL PLANTS. 
ed at the base of the lobes ; filaments and anthers short, in- 
cluded. Style awl-shaped, 3-cleft at the apex; stigmas 
minutely 2-lobed. Capsules ovate, enclosed in the peri- 
anth. FI. May. Very frequent in damp, sandy soil, in the 
oak-barrens. The root is officinal. Collect in early fall. 
IRIDACEiE. (Iris Family.) 
Iris versicolor, L. Blue Flag. Perennial, with sword-shaped 
leaves, from a creeping, more or less tuberous, rootstock. Stem 
erect, 1-3° high, angled on one side, leaves f' wide. Peri- 
anth G-cleft; tube of the perianth shorter than the divis- 
ions, which are beardless and crestless, the erect inner ones 
much smaller than the outer. Stamens distinct ; the oblong 
or linear anthers sheltered under the over-arching petal-like 
stigmas. Capsule oblong, turgid, with rounded angles. In 
lagoons and wet places; common over the State. FI. May- 
The rhizome should be collected in fall. 
AMARYLLIDACEiE. (Amaryllis Family.) 
Agave Virginica, Rattlesnake-Master. Herbaceous peren- 
nial, with more or less entire fleshy leaves clustered at the 
base of a 3-6° high scape ; flowers scattered in a loose wand- 
like spike, greenish-yellow, fragrant; perianth 9-12" long,, 
its narrow tube twice longer than the erect lobes. The stout 
root is used as a domestic remedy in the South for the relief 
of flatulent colic and dyspepsia. Frequent in calcareous,, 
rocky soils. 
DIOSCOREACEAE. (Yam Family.) 
Dioscorea villosa, L. Wild Yam-Root. Herbaceous. Stem 
slender, from knotty and matted rootstocks, twining over 
bushes; leaves mostly alternate, sometimes nearly opposite 
or in fours, more or less downy beneath, heart-shaped, con- 
spicuously pointed, 9-11 ribbed. Flowers dioecious, pale 
greenish-yellow, small, 6-androus and regular, the sterile- 
in drooping panicles; the perianth adhering in the fertile 
