SMILACE.E. 585 



17. H. decumbena, L. Hairy ; bulb ovoid ; leaves linear, acuminate, '&-5-nerved, 

 recurved-flaccid, longer than the decumbent, few(-l)-flowered scapes ; bracts linear, ex- 

 ceeding the pedicel ; perigonial tube wholly adnate : lobes ovate-lanceolate, pointed ; cap- 

 sule clavate-cylindrical, slightly curved. — Mart. Ft. Bras. 8. t. l.f. 1. — Leaves 2"'-4'." 

 broad ; perigone yellow, externally greenish : limb 5"'-6'" diam. — Hab. Jamaica !, Wils., 

 Wullschl., in savannahs ; Trinidad !, Cr. ; [Cuba ! to Brazil !]. 



18. H. scorzonerifolia, Lam. Hairy; bulb oblong ; leaves linear-lanceolate, acumi- 

 nate at both ends, many-nerved, erect ; flowers axillary, sessile, single, exserted from the 

 membranaceous, oblong-lanceolate bract ; perigonial tube filiform, long -produced beyond the 

 ovary -. lobes elliptical-lanceolate, bluntish ; " capsule oblong." — Desc. Fl. 8. t. 593. — Leaves 

 2"'-5"' broad ; perigone yellow within, externally pale-red : limb 8"'-12'" diam. — Hab. 

 Jamaica!, Wullschl.; S.Vincent; [Haiti to Brazil !]. 



CXXXIX. SMILACEiE. 



Character of Liliaceee, but pericarp mostly fleshy, albumen corneous, and embryo usually 

 minute. — Lateral leaf-ribs curved, often reticulated ; perigone of 6-4 (-10) divisions, in- 

 ferior. 



The Sarsaparilla is the root of Smilax papyracea, the Jamaica China-root that of S. Bal- 

 bisiana, 



1. CALODRACON, Planch. 



Perigone campanulate, 6-fid, deciduous : stamens inserted into its throat, included. Fila- 

 ments subulate, anthers 2-fid-incumbent. Ovary 3-celled, many-ovulate. Stigma 3-fid. — 

 Trees ; leaves rosulate at the summit of a simple trunk, striated by approximate lateral 

 ribs proceeding from the midrib, petioled ; panicle terminal of compound racemes or spikes: 

 pedicels jointed at the summit. 



1. C. Sieberi, Planch. Leaves lanceolate-oblong, mucronate ; pedicels one-third as 

 long as the bluish perigone, much exceeding the minute bracts. — Cordyline, Kth. Dracsena 

 terminalis, Sieb. (Cordyline, PI. Kegel.). — Leaves 9"-15" long, 2"-3" broad, green with a 

 violet tinge ; pedicels 2'", perigone 5"'-6'" long. — Hab. S. Kitts ! ; Trinidad {Sieb.) ; [French 

 islands ! to Guiana !, probably introduced from the Old World]. 



2. SMILAX, L. 



Flowers dioecious. Perigone 6-phyllous, deciduous : stamens inserted into its base. An- 

 thers erect, recurved. Ovary 3-celled; cells l(-2)-ovulate : ovules pendulous, atropous. 

 Style 3-partite. Seeds subglobose, not black. — Shrubby (rarely herbaceous) climbers, often 

 prickly ; leaves palmatinerved, reticulated-veiny : tendrils in pairs from the petiole ; um- 

 bels peduncled, axillary. 



Sect. Pharmacosmilax. — Anthers about as long or longer than the filaments. — Network 

 of veins dense, mostly prominent on both sides of the leaf. 



* Floicer-buds ovoid, or subglobose, V" long, or less ; branches prickly. 



2. S. papyracea, Poir. Branchlets angular : leaves membranaceous-chartaceous, 

 ovate-oblong, oblong-lanceolate, (or cordate-ovate), acuminate with a bluntish point, veiny 

 on both sides, glabrous : tendrils inserted below the middle of the petiole ; peduncles 

 shorter than (or as long as) the petiole ; flower-buds ovoid; anthers oblong, as long as the 

 filament ; berries red. — Plum. Ed. Burm. t. 83. Mart. Fl. Bras. 5. 1. 1. — S. acuminata, W. 

 S. officinalis, Kth. sec. Seem. S. globifera, Mey. Esseq. ! S. Hostmanniana, Kth. — Leaves 

 green, very variable, as in all the following species ; flowers " greenish." — Hab. Trinidad !, 

 Sch. ; [Mexico to Guiana ! and Equat. Brazil]. 



3. S. surinamensis, Miq .! Branchlets subcyliudrical; leaves membranaceous-char- 

 taceous, ovate-oblong, oblong-lanceolate (or cordate-ovate), bluntish-mucronate, veiny on 

 both sides, glabrous : tendrils inserted at the middle of the petiole ; peduncles shortly ex- 



