X y r is . L. 3. 1.
Valves of the calyx unequal; petals equal ; flowers in an ovate
cylindric head.
Named from the Greek for acute, as the leaf ends in a sharp
point ; rush-like plants with yellow flowers.
X. Caroliniana. Lam. Yellow-eyed Grass. Stem a foot or
more high, somewhat twisted ; leaves linear, grass-like ; scape
2-edged ; flowers yellow, in a small, dense head ; wet meadows;
July. Plant widely spread over this country ; of little use.
ORDER 235. HYPOXIDE^L
Perianth petaloid or petal-like, commonly 6-parted, superior,
regular ; stamens 6, inserted into the base of the segments ; ovary
inferior, 3-celled ; style single ; capsule not opening hy valves ;
stemless, or nearly stemless, with plaited leaves, and white or
yellow flotyers. Properties not ascertained.
H ypoxis. L. 6. 1.
Has a 2-valved spathe, and an elongated capsule, narrowed
base, and many roundish, naked seeds.
Named from the Greek for beneath and sharp, as this is the termination
of the lower sepals. Loudon. The genus seems to be
of little consequence, though it has more than a dozen species,
chiefly belonging to the Cape of Good Hope ; 3 are natives of
the United States, and 1 of this Commonwealth.
H. erecta. L. Star Grass. Erect, hairy, with a stem or
scape about 6 inches high, and narrow, long leaves, linear and
grass-like ; root bulbous ; woods ; June.
N o t e . The place of the plants of this order seems not to be
very obvious, as they have been united with the Asphodelete by
some botanists, and associated by others with Bromeliacese, of
which the Pine Apple is the most prominent and very different.
Their affinities are much nearer those of the Hypoxideas, and
Irideae, with which others have connected them.
AMARYLLIDEiE. 193
ORDER 238. AMARYLLIDEiE. Narcissus T r ib e .
Flowers from a spathe ; corolla superior, 6-cleft ; stamens 6,
inserted on the corolla ; ovary 3-celled ; roots bulbous or fibrous;
leaves sword-shaped, with parallel veins. Exotics, found in our
gardens.
A maryllis. L. 6. 1.
A genus of splendid plants, indigenous chiefly to the warmer parts
of America and Southern Africa; nearly 40 species have been
cultivated in England ; only 1 species is found so far north as
the State of Pennsylvania, A. atamasco, L ., or Atamasco Lily,
and not often cultivated in our gardens.
Corolla irregular ; stamens unequal.
The name is that of a celebrated nymph, on account of its
beauty, from the Greek, to be resplendent.
A. formosissima. L. Jacobea Lily. A splendid plant from
tropical North America, sometimes found in gardens, with a rin-
gent-like corolla, and the divisions declined ; one flower from a
spathe, white and red.
After flowering, the bulbous roots of this and similar plants
should be preserved nearly dry, as they will flower the more
abundantly another season.
Narcissus. L. 6. 1. Narcissus.
Named from the Greek for stupor, from the dangerous effects
of the odor on the nerves. Loudon. An extensive and beautiful
genus, found abundantly in Southern Europe and the adjacent
countries.
JV. poeticus. L. Poet’s Narcissus. Flowers white, cup
wheel-shaped.
JY. jonquilla. L. Jonquil. From the Latin for rush ; spathe
1 — 3-flowered, divisions reflexed.
25