534 WOODY PLANTS OF MASSACHUSETTS. 



The stem is woody, strong, very tough, flexuose, somewhat 

 branched, and smooth, except where armed with short, straight, 

 rigid thorns which proceed from the wood. Branches some- 

 what 4-angled. Leaves unarmed, orbicular, heart-shaped at 

 base, 5-nerved, ending in a short point, paler and glaucous 

 beneath, two or three inches long, and of equal breadth, and 

 reticulate in their structure. Footstalks short, margined, with 

 a slender but tough tendril from the extremity of the margin on 

 each side. The flowers, which appear in June, are small, yel- 

 lowish-green, in roundish umbels, on short stalks, from the axils 

 of the leaves. Berries small, bluish-black, with a glaucous 

 bloom ; disagreeable to the taste, ripening in October. The root 

 is long and tough, and thickens sometimes into tubers. The 

 Green Briar abounds in moist grounds, especially where the 

 trees have been wholly or partially cut off. The leaves are of 

 a beautiful soft green, which in October turn to a deep yellow, 

 and in November to a rust color. 



Sp. 2. Carrion Flower. Herbaceous Smilax. S. herbacea. L. 



A smooth, erect or leaning, herbaceous plant, from a woody, 

 perennial root. Stem three to eight feet long, smooth, unarmed, 

 somewhat angled, often reddish, attaching itself to other plants 

 by its thread-like tendrils ; simple, or with a few small branches. 

 Stem leaves two or three inches long and one or two wide, 

 heart-shaped or somewhat acute at base, pointed, entire, 7- or 

 9-nerved, smooth above, downy on the nerves and veins be- 

 neath. Leaf-stalk half as long as the leaf, winged at base, 

 with a slender tendril terminating each wing. Branches few, 

 from the axils of the stem-leaves, bearing a few narrower and 

 smaller, 5-nerved leaves. Flowers appear in June and are small, 

 yellowish-green, in small, round umbels, and of a very offen- 

 sive odor. The staminate flowers are on a short footstalk ; the 

 fertile ones on stalks six or eight inches long, and succeeded by 

 small, compressed, dark blue berries. The odor of the flowers is 

 fugacious and does not adhere to the dried specimens. 



