544 CU. SMILACEiE. Smilax. 



2-seeded ; seeds membranaceously margined. — Slender, shrubby 

 climbers, twining tcith the sun. Lvs. simple and palmately veined or 

 pabnately divided. Fls. green, incorispicuous, in axillary spikes or 

 panicles. 



D. viLLosA. (D. quaternata. Ph.) Yam Root. 



iyr.s. broad-ovate, cordate, acuminate, 9 — 11-veined, the margin entire or 

 wavy, lower surface villose with short, soft hairs, upper surface glabrous; 

 petioles elongated, the lowest somewhat verticillate in 4s, the next subopposite, 

 the middle and upper alternate ; (^ plant with the spikes paniculate, 9 ^^'i^h the 

 spikes simple. — A delicate twining vine, in thickets and hedges, U. S. and Can., 

 rare in N. Eng. Stem woolly, smooth, reddish-brown, 1 — 2" diam., 5 — 10 — 

 15f long, running over bushes' and fences. Leaves 2 — 4' long, f as wide, dis- 

 tinctly cordate and acuminate. The two outside veins in .some of the leaves 

 meet a little above the base, in others at the base — a character of no value. 

 Petioles 2 — 4' long. Peduncles axillary. Ovaries at first elliptic, finally almost 

 as broad as long. June, July. 



13. Iceviuscula. Wood. (D. quaternata. Pursh.) Lvs. smooth both sides, mar- 

 gin slightly wavy ; otherwise indistinguishable from variety a. 



Order CLI. SMILACE^.— Sarsaparillas. 



Herbs or shrubs, often climbing. Lis. reticulate-veined. 



Fls. dioecious or perfect. Perianth free from the ovarj', 6-parted, regular. 



Sta. 6, inserted into the base of the segments. 



Ova. 3-celled ; cells 1 or many-seeded. . 



Fi-.— Berry roundish, few or many-seeded. Seeds with cartilagmous albumen. 



Genera 2, species 120, thinly disseminated through most countries. The diuretic and demulcent sarsa- 

 parilias are the roots of several chiefly S. American si)ecies of .Smilax. 



SMILAX. 



Gr. (T[ii\r], a grater ; the stems of .some species are rough with prickles. 



Flowers cJ* 9 ; perianth broad-campanulate. c^ Anthers adnata. 

 9 Style minute ; stigmas 3 ; berry 3-celled, 1 — 3-seeded. — % or 

 shrubby, mostly climbing by stipular tendrils, often prickly. Lvs. entire^ 

 petiolate, palmately veined. Fls. umbellate'. 



* Stem shrv.bl/ij and pricJdy. 



1. S. ROTUNDiFOLiA (and caduca. Li7i7i. S. quadrangularis. Ph.) 



St. terete or sub-4-.sided, flexuous, aculeate, ligneous, climbing; lis. short- 

 petiolate, roundish-ov^ate, acuminate, subcordate, a little paler and glaucous 

 beneath, 5 — 7-veined, glabrous; ped. axillary, solitary, many-flowered, longer 

 than the petioles ; brrrie.^ black, glaucous. — A .'^trong, thorny vine, extending 

 10 — 40f in hedges and thickets, U. S. and Can. Stem woody, smooth, except 

 the scattered thorns which proceed from the wood. Branches 4-angled. Leaves 

 2 — 3' by U — 3', cordate or tapering at base. Tendrils strong, from the top of 

 the wiiigs of ihe petioles. Flowers small, greenish, in small, axillary umbels. 

 Berries round, black. June. 



(3. cadvco. Smaller, with ovate leaves shorter than the peduncles. 



y, quadrayig^ilaris. SI. unarmed above, obtusely 4-angled ; lvs. ovate. 



2. S. SARSAPARiLLA. Medicinal SarsapariUa. 



" St: slightly 4-angled, aculeate above; lvs. unarmed, elliptical-ovate, 

 cu.spidate, abrupt, 3-veined, glaucous beneath; ped. longer than the short peti- 

 oles." — In swampy thickets, Penn. to Car. Pursh. Root long, slender, with a 

 thick bark Ijrown externally, white within. Stem stout, somewhat flexuous, 

 armed with a few scattered, hooked prickles. Leaves finally nearly orbicular, 

 2 — 3' diam., abruptly contracted at each end, with 3 .strong veins and 2 lateral 

 smaller secondary ones. Petioles short, margined, with 2 tendrils. Flowers 

 in small, thin umbels, yellowish-white. Berries (red, Woodville, black, Pvrsh.) 

 3-.seedcd. 



3. S. LAURiFOLiA. Laurel-leaved Green Brier. 



St. aculeate, terete, branches unarmed ; lvs. coriaceous, oval-lanceolate, 



