Polygonatvm LILIACEAE Asparagus 



It differs from typical P. officinale in having very slender peduncles, 3-7 cm. long, and narrow 

 lvs., 10-15 cm. long. 



22. Smilax Linn. Green-Briar HHM (Pa Ch'ia Shu) 



Deciduous or evergreen, woody or herbaceous climbers, rarely upright: stems 

 usually prickly, climbing by means of coiled appendages of the petiole: lower lvs. 

 reduced to scales; upper lvs. sometimes lobed, often blotched with gray or white: fls. 

 dioecious, rather small, in axillary usually peduncled umbels; perianth segments 6, 

 deciduous; stamens 6-15; ovary 3-celled: fr. a 1-several-seeded berry. 200 species, in 

 temperate and tropical regions; 25 in China. (Ancient Greek name.) 



Key to the Species 



a. Shoots herbaceous, not prickly, f r. black 1 . S. herbacea 



aa. Shoots woody. 



b. Fr. red: stems more or less prickly. 



Plants loosely branched; stem sparingly spiny: lvs. larger, 

 deciduous in early autumn: sepals of male fls. obtuse: 



seeds angular 2 . S. china 



Plants diffusely branched; stem spiny: lvs. smaller, persistent 

 until the approach of winter: sepals of male fls. acute: 



seeds globose 3. S. davidiana 



bb. Fr. black. 



Stems not prickly : lvs. lanceolate 4 . S. glabra 



Stems prickly: lvs. ovate. 



Lvs. not cordate 5. S. glauco-china 



Lvs. cordate or truncate at the base 6. S. sieboldii 



1. Smilax herbacea Linn. Carrion-Flower ±.%&ir (T'u Fu Ling; Native China-root) 

 (G.M.449). Vine; fls. greenish, V-VII; fr. black, IX-X; shoots herbaceous. Eastern 

 North America and eastern Asia; locally in An., Che., Ki., Ku. Brushland. 



2. Smilax china Linn. H|§ (Pa Ch'ia) (R.M.896). Woody vine; fls. greenish, IV-VI; 

 fr. red, IX-X; seeds angular. Eastern Asia; locally in An., Che., Ki., Ku. 

 Shrubland. Fig. 485. 



3. Smilax davidiana DC. (S. china Linn. var. brachypoda Rehd.) (Fa.B.3:112). 

 .Climbing woody vine; fls. yellowish green, IV-V; fr. red, VIII-IX; seeds globose. 



Eastern and central China; locally in An., Che., Hun., Ki., Ku. Woodland 

 thickets. 



4. Smilax glabra Roxb. (Be.F.369). Woody vine; fls. greenish, VIII; fr. black, IX. 

 Southeastern Asia; locally in An., Che., Ki., Ku. Thickets. 



5. Smilax glauco-china Warb. (PI. W. 3:5, 8). Woody vine; fls. greenish, IV-V; fr. 

 black, X. Central China; locally in An., Che., Ki., Ku. Woodland. 



6. Smilax sieboldii Miq. f&MM (Nien Yii Hsu; Cat-fish Whiskers) (R.M.895). Woody 

 vine; fls. greenish, VI; fr. black, X. Eastern Asia; locally in Che., Ku. Woodland. 



23. Asparagus Linn. ^H^M (T'ien Men Tung Shu) 



Plants perennial, erect or climbing, often woody at the base: lvs. scale-like, bear- 

 ing in their axils clusters of filiform or linear (sometimes broad) flattened cladodes: 

 polygamous or dioecious: fls. small, solitary or in axillary umbels or racemes; perianth 

 segments sometimes united at the base; stamens 6: ovary 3-celled : fr. a 1-few-seeded 

 berry. 150 species, in Asia, the Mediterranean region, and Africa; 10 in China. (Greek: 



519 



