532 WOODY PLANTS OF MASSACHUSETTS. 



SECOND GENERAL DIVISION. 



CHAPTER Vm. MONOCOTYLEDONOUS PLANTS. 



This division is of little comparative importance in extra- 

 tropical regions. In this State, it is represented by a few families 

 of humble plants, among which are, however, the grasses and 

 those which produce the various kinds of corn and grain. The 

 noblest of monocotyledonous plants, the palms, are confined to 

 the warmer climates. 



The stem of monocotyledonous plants is not composed of dis- 

 tinct pith, wood and bark, the two latter arranged in concentric 

 rings or zones and traversed by medullary rays, but of bundles 

 of vessels and woody fibres traversing the stem somewhat irreg- 

 ularly from the base of the leaves to the roots or to points near 

 the surface of the stem. The leaves have ribs and veins nearly 

 parallel, and are not usually articulated to the stem, but con- 

 tinuous, so that, when they wither and decay, they leave a rag- 

 ged, indefinite, partial stalk, instead of the well-marked scar 

 left by the fall of the leaf of a dicotyledonous plant. The 

 parts of the flowers are in threes or multiples of three. The 

 embryo of the seeds is undivided, and has a single lobe or 

 cotyledon, and a single radicle. 



FAMILY XLI. THE SMIL AX FAMILY. SMILA'CEJE. R. Brown. 



This small family, the only one containing monocotyledonous 

 plants which in our climate have woody stems, includes plants 

 differing considerably in aspect, habits and duration. To it 

 belong the small, herbaceous annuals, Trillium, Medeola, Strep- 

 topus, Gonvallaria and Uvularia, and the woody, climbing 

 plants of the genus Smilax. It is found principally in Asia 

 and North America. It is characterized by having the calyx 

 and corolla usually confounded, of six parts resembling petals 

 in being colored ; 6 stamens ; style trifid ; 3 stigmas or a 3-parted 

 stigma, and the fruit a roundish berry. 



