SMILACACEJE. 888 SMILAX. 



and climbing; 3 — 6 feet long. Loaves mostly alternate, 2—4 inches long, | as 

 wide, smooth above, smooth or villinis beneath, on reflexed and channeled 

 footstalks. Flowers minute, numerous, red, sessile in small fascicles or 

 racemes, arranged in an alternate manner upon a long, slender axillary com- 

 mon peduncle. June, July. Yaiu-rout. 



ORDER CL!I. S.MlLACACEiE. TheSmilnx Tribe, 



jr/s. — Dicrcious or perfect. Perinnih free from the ovarj", C-parted, regular. 



Sta.—d, in-f-rtrd illKi (hetiiisr r.Mllc srL'Ulclll.S. 

 Ofa.— :-!-<-i'1IimI; c, ■lis 1 (.r [lUiiiy-srril.J. 



Pr, Heny rounilisli, lew ur iiian\ -sci-ilrd. Seedi with cartilnginous all/umen. 



A sinallorder olheibs <ir shrubiiy plants, ol'leii cliinbiiiif. Leaves reliculately veined.^ 

 This last eircumstiinee chiefly tlistiiisjuishes this order Ironi the following- SarsapariUa of 

 the shops consists chiefly of the roots of several foreign species of smilax. 



SMILAX. 



Flowers (lini^rious ; peiiaiitli l)i()a(i-(;jm[)nnulci(f'. Sttrilr. — - 

 Antlicis adiiatf. FrrlHr. — JSl} le niiiiiilc; sligmasS; bciry 

 3-ce!lc(l, ]— o-scoded. 



Gr. 0-ie.iXi), a grater; the stems of some species are rough with prickles. 



1. S. rotundfo'lia. 



Stem suffruticose, prickly, terete; leaves unarmed, orbicular, oval or ovate^ 

 short-acutninate, o — 7-nerved ; loiiniion pc/liinrlc about as long as the petioles. 

 A stronir, tiiorny vine, extending 10- 40 feet in hedges and thickets. Stem 

 woody, "smooth except the scattered thorns w'hich proceed from the wood. 

 Branches 4-angled. Leaves 2—3 inches long, U — 3 inches wide, cordate 

 or tapering at'^ base. Tendrils strong, from the top of the wings of the. 

 petioles. Flowers small, greenish, in small, axillary umbels. Berries round, 

 black. June. Round-Luived Smilax. Green Briar. 



/3. caduca (S. caduca. L.) ; I en vcs ovSiie ; commun pefhmclesiongei llmnlhe 

 leaves. Stem 3 — 10 feet long. 



2. S. HERBACEA. L. S. pedancularis. J\fuh. 

 Stem herbaceous, unarmed, angular, erect, or inclining: leaves ovate, 



7 <J-nerved, cuspidate ; wmic/s on long peduncles A coarse, smooth, ill- 

 scented plant, in thickets and low grounds. Stem slightly angled, 3— C or 8 

 feet high, usually nodding with its slender summit and tew small branches, 

 and leaning on other phuUs or on each other. Leaves 2 — '] inches long, i— f 

 as broad, paler beneath, the petioles winged at base and producing a long, 

 slender tendril from the top of each wing. Fertile umbels simple, about 

 40-flovvered, en peduncles G — 8 inches long, those of the sterile umbels 

 shorter. Flowers yellowish green , diffusing about the plant an intolerably 

 offensive and sickening odor. Berries dark blue. June. 



/3. stem more generally climbing by its tendrils; leaves broadly ovate, 

 subcordale. Herbaceous Smilax. 



