Nemastylis
(from nema, a thread, and stylos, a column; referring to the slender style). SYNS. Chlamydostylis, Eustylis, Nemostylis. ORD. Irideae. A genus comprising about half-a-dozen species of half-hardy bulbs, natives of Mexico and North and tropical America. Flowers in few or somewhat numerous-flowered spathes, pedicellate; perianth segments ovate; spathe oblong or narrow. Leaves narrow, long, sometimes sub-terete, rarely narrow-ensiform; floral leaves one or two. Bulb tunicated. The species thrive in well-drained sandy loam: for pot culture they do best in a cold frame near the glass, or in a light, cool house. After the leaves have died off, the pots must be kept dry and stored in a cool place until the following spring. Increased by bulb offsets, or by seeds.
N. acuta (acute).* fl. blue, yellow, black, solitary, terminal, very fugacious, falling to pieces within a few hours of their opening. h. 6in. South-western United States, 1875. SYN. N. geminiflora. (B. M. 6666.) N. coelestina (celestial blue). fl. bright blue, mostly solitary, terminal; perianth six-parted, the divisions oblong-obovate. May and June. l., radical ones few, elongated, sheathing; stem ones diminishing upwards, the uppermost bract-like. Stem 1 1/2ft. to 2ft. high. South United States, 1882. (R. G. 1081, Fig. 1.) N. geminiflora (twin-flowered). A synonym of N. acuta.