344 LILY FAMILT. 



S. amplexif61ius. Stem stout, rough at base, 2 - 3 high ; leaves strong- 

 ly clasping, smooth, trlancons beneath; (lower \vhitish, on a long stalk with 

 abrupt bend above the middle ; anthers slender-pointed : stigma truncate. 



S. r6seus. Stem l-2 high; lca\e-< -recn, finely ciliate, and with the 

 few branches beset with more short and line hri-tly hairs ; flower rose-purple, 

 on a less bent stalk ; anthers 2-horncd ; stigma 3-clet't. 



16. CONVALLARIA, LILY-OF-THK-V ALLEY. (Name altered 

 from the Latin Lilnun convallium, of which the English name is a translation.) 

 Fl. late spring. 



C. majalis, the only true species, cult, everywhere, from Europe, and wild 

 on the higher Alleghanies ; its small sweet-scented white flowers familiar. 



17. SMILACINA, FALSE SOLOMON'S SEAL. (Name a diminutive 

 of Smilax, which these plants do not resemble.) Wild in woods or low 

 grounds : fl. late spring. 



1. Perianth of only 4 reflered spreading divisions: stamens 4 : ovary 2-celled. 



S. bifolia. In all rn<>i<t woods N. : 3'-6' high ; stem bearing 2 (sometimes 

 3) heart-shaped leaves, and a short raceme of small flowers ; berries red. 



2. Perianth of 6 divisions: stamens 6 : ovary 3-ct-lled, rarely 2-ceJ/ed. 



S. trif61ia. Cold bogs N. : 3' -6' high, smooth, with mostly 3 oblong 

 leaves tapering to a sheathing base; raceme loose, few-flowered : berries red. 



S. Stellata. llocky places N. : l-2 high, smooth, or the 7-12 lance- 

 oblong leaves minutely downy when young; raceme several-flowered; berries 

 blackish. 



S. racem6sa. Moist copies and banks, chiefly N. : 2 high, minutely 

 downy, leafy to the top; the oblong or lance-oval leaves ciliate, pointed at each 

 end ; "flowers small, crowded in a compound raceme; the divisions of perianth 

 narrow ; berries pale red and speckled. 



18. POLYGONATUM, SOLOMON'S SEAL. (Name in Greek means 

 many-jointed. The English name is from the rootstocks, the impression of 

 the seal being the scar left by the death and >eparation of the stem of a former 

 year: Lessons, p. 44, fig. 99.) Stem recurving or turned to one side. Fl. 



late spring and early summer. 



P. bifl6rum, SMALLER S. Wooded banks : l-3 high : the ovate-oblong 

 or lance-oblong leave- nearly sessile and glaucous or minutely whitish-downy 

 beneath; peduncles mostly 2-flowercd ; filaments roughened, borne above the 

 middle of the tube. 



P. gigantfeum, LAI;I:KK S. Alluvial grounds N. : 3-8 high, smooth; 

 leaves ovate, partly clasping : peduncles 2 - S-llowered ; filaments smooth and 

 naked, borne on the middle of the tube. 



19. ASPARAGUS. (The ancient Creek name.) Fl. early summer. 



A. officinalis, COMMON Asi'Ai; \<;us. Cult, from Eu. for its esculent 

 spring shoots, spontaneous about gardens: tall, bushy-branched, the leaves 

 thread-shaped. 



20. MYRSIPHYLLUM. (The name in Creek means tnyrtlr-kavcil.) 



M. asparagoides, of Cape Good Hope : a very smooth delicate 

 twiner, cult, in conservatories for winter decoration, under the name of 

 SMILAX: the bright green SO-called leaves 1' or inure long, glossy-green both 

 sides, nerved, set edgewise on the branch, but turning so as to present an upper 

 and under face ; the small (lowers produced in winter, sweet-scented, with 

 reddUh anthers: berries green. That the -ermin^ leave- are of the nature 

 of branches is -howti in Ki-^is, the P>r i m F.K'> I>I;<>OM. of Europe (here 

 rarelv culmatcd), whore they are rigid, spiny-tipped, and bear flowers on one 

 face. 



