A small family having, with us, but a single representative:Sauru'rus L. Lizard's Tail.

S. cer'nuus, L. A swamp herb, with jointed branching stem, 2 feet high. Leaves petioled, heart-shaped, with converging ribs. Flowers white, in a dense terminal spike, nodding at the end, each flower with a lanceolate bract. Flowers perfect, but entirely destitute of calyx and corolla. Stamens usually 6 or 7, with long slender white filaments. Carpels 3 or 4, slightly united at the base.