LILY FAMILY 45 



veined, instead of parallel-veined, and a pair of tendrils 

 is borne on the leaf-stalk. 



Indians of the southeastern states prepared from the 

 thick rootstocks of smilax a starchy food that they called 

 red coontie. Sarsaparilla of commerce is yielded by the 

 roots of several exotic species of this genus. 



Smilax laurifolia. Bamboo briar. Woody vine. Flowers 

 green, about %, in. long, 6-parted, in umbels from leaf-axils. 

 Stems high-climbiiLg, armed with stout spines. Leaves 

 alternate, thick, shining, oblong or linear, narrowed at base, 

 2-6 in. long. Fruit a black berry. Swamps and thickets. 

 Blooming from spring to fall. Fla. to N. J., Texas, and 

 Ark. 



Smilax Beyrichii. Flowers fragrant. Leaves dilated and 

 lobed at base, variable, 1-4 in. long. Berries black. Dry soil. 

 Blooming in spring and summer. Fla. to N. C. and Ala. 



Smilax havanensis. Leaves roundish or oblong, spine- 

 toothed, 1-2 in. long. Dry soil. Blooming in spring. South- 

 ern Fla. 



Smilax pmnila. Stems unarmed, somewhat fuzzy, trailing. 

 Leaves broad, 2-4 in. long. Berries yellow to red, pointed. 

 Dry soil. Blooming in fall. Fla. to S. C. and La. 



Smilax glauca. Leaves pale beneath, broad, rounded at 

 base, 2-4 in. long. Berries bluish black. Dry thickets. 

 Blooming in spring. Fla. to Mass. and Texas. 



Smilax Walteri. Stems prickly only near base. Leaves 



oblong or broadest near base, 1-5 in. long. Berries red. 



Swamps and thickets. Blooming in spring. Fla. to N. J. 

 and La. 



CoLic-EooT. Alum-Eoot (Genus Aletris) 



The colic-root's wandlike stems, set with many small 

 tubular yellow flowers, are common in damp pinelands 

 during spring. The yellowish green leaves lie in a rosette 

 at the base of the stem. The flowers, which in the more 

 common A . lutea are one-third of an inch long, are granu- 

 lar outside, and differ from our other species of the lily 



