544 CU. SMILACEiE. Smtlax. 



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

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

 palmately divided. Fls. green, inconspicuous, in axillary spikes or 

 panicles. 



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



Z/r5. 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 sulDopposite, 

 the middle and upper alternate; (^ plant with the spikes paniculate, 9 with 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, | 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. 



/?. IcBviiiscula. Wood. (D. quaternata. Pursk.) Ijvs. smooth both sides, mar- 

 gin slightly wavy ; otherwise indistinguishable from variety a. 



Order CLI. SMILACE^. — Sarsaparillas. 



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



Fls. dicEcious or perfect. Perianth free from the ovary, 6-parted, regiilar. 



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



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



Fr.— Berry roundish, few or many-seeded. SefSs with cartilaginous albumen. 



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

 parillas are the roots of several chietly S. American species of Smilax. 



SMILAX. 



Gr. (TfiiXr), a grater ; the stems of some species are rough with prickles. 



Flowers c? 9 ; perianth broad-campanulate. c? Anthers adnate. 

 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 shrubby and prickly. 



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



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

 petiolate, roundish-ovate, acuminate, subcordate, a little paler and glaucous 

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

 than the petioles ; berries black, glaucous. — A strong, 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 \\ — 3', 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. 



/?. caduca. Smaller, with ovate leaves shorter than the peduncles. 



y. quadrangularis. St. unarmed above, obtusely 4-angled ; lvs. ovate. 



2. S. SARSAPARiLLA. Mcdiciual Sarsaparilla.. 



''■ St. slightly 4-angled, aculeate above; lvs. unarmed, elliptical-ovate, 

 cuspidate, 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 brown 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, yellowi.sh-white. Berries (red, Woodville, black, Pursh.) 

 3-seeded. 



3. S. LAURiFOLiA. Laurcl-leaved Grccji Brier. 



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



