544 CLI. SMILACEiE. Smilax. 



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

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

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



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



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

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

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

 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-bro-v^-n, 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. 



/S. 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. Lvs. reticulate-veined. 



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



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



Ova. 3-celled ; cells l or many-seeded. ^ ^ ^ . ^ ., . ., 



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



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

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



SMILAX. 



Gr. (xiii\t], a grater; the stems of some species are rough with prickles. 



Flowers c^ 9 ; perianth "broad-campanulate. J* 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. 



\. 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 1^ — 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. 



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



y. quadrangxdaris. St. unarmed al30ve, obtusely 4-angled ; lvs. ovate. 



2. S, SARSAPARILLA, Medicinal Sarsaparilla. 



" St. slightly 4-angled, aculeate above; h^s. unarmed, elliptical-ovate, 

 cuspidate, abruptj 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, yellowish- white. Berries (red, Woodville, black, Pursh.) 

 3-seeded. 



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



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



