444 
THE DICTIONARY OF GARDENING, 
Smilacina—continued. - 
the segments distinct or shortly connate towards the 
base; stamens six; inflorescence terminal, shortly pedun- 
culate, racemose or forming a simple panicle; bracts 
small or obsolete. Leaves alternate, very shortly petio- 
late, ovate, lanceolate, or rarely narrow. The best- 
known species are described below. They succeed in 
any light soil, and may be readily increased by divi- 
sions. f 
S. bifolia (two-leaved). A synonym of Maianthemum bifolium. 
S. borealis (Northern). A synonym of Clintonia borealis. 
ensis (Canadian). A synonym of Maianthemum 
bifolium. 
S. oleracea (culinary).* f. in a deltoid, terminal panicle, 
minutely bracteate; perianth white, tinged with rose outside, 
globose, about jin. long and broad ; pedicels fin. long, defiexed 
or ascending. May. Jfr., berry rose-purple, with dark spots. 
l. 6in. to Jin. long, alternate, oblong-acuminate, minutely pubes- 
cent beneath. Stem sub-erect, simple. A. 4ft. Sikkim, 1877. 
(B. M. 6313, under name of Tovaria oleracea.) 
S. racemosa (racemose). False Spikenard. f. on solitary pedi- 
cels; perianth whitish, one line long; panicle oblong or deltoid, 
shortly pedunculate, 2in. to 6in. long, the branches dense- 
flowered, ascending. May. J. ten to fifteen, ascending, oblong 
or lanceolate, acuminate, 3in, to 9in. long, paler and puberulous 
beneath. A. 2ft. to 3ft. North America, 1640. (B. M. 899, under 
name of Convallaria racemosa.) . 
S. stellata (star-li:e).* Star-flowered Lily of the Valley. 
Jl, perianth white, two to three lines long; racemes somewhat 
dense, ten to twenty-flowered, very shortly pedunculate, lin. to 
ljin. long. May. l. six to fifteen, ascending, oblong or lanceo- 
late, 2in. to 6in. long, acute or acuminate, sessile and semi- 
amplexicaul, glaucous and puberulous beneath. h. lft. to 2ft 
North-west America, 1633. (B. M. 1043 and L. B. C. 1080, under 
name of Convallaria stellata.) 
S. uniflora (one-flowered). A synonym of Clintonia uniflora. 
SMILAX (the ancient Greek name used by Theo- 
phrastus). American China Root. TRIBE Smilacee of 
Orp. Liliacee. This genus embraces, according to Alph. 
de Candolle, 187 species of stove, greenhouse, or hardy, 
sarmentose shrubs, rarely dwarf and _ sub-herbaceous, 
broadly dispersed over temperate and tropical regions. 
Flowers small, diœcious, pedicellate, in umbels (or cyme- 
lets), often numerous; stamens of the males six, rarely 
indefinite ; staminodes of the females six or fewer; 
umbels pedunculate or sessile, axillary or terminal. 
Leaves alternate, distichous, or rarely opposite, often 
perennial; petioles furnished with two tendrils; floral 
leaves usually reduced to bracts. Smilax is, on the 
whole, one of the most important genera from an 
economic standpoint. The roots of several species con- 
stitute the well-known Sarsaparilla of our shops. The 
rootstocks of 5. China are eaten by the Chinese; and 
those of S. Pseudo China are used in the manufacture 
of a kind of beer in South Carolina. A selection of 
species grown in gardens is given below. They boast 
of no particular beauty, but are plants of considerable 
interest, and mostly hardy. A sandy-loam soil is best 
adapted to their requirements. Propagation may be 
effected by divisions of the root. 
S. aspera (rough).* Prickly Ivy. . whitish or flesh-coloured, 
fragrant ; spikes longer or shorter than the leaves. July. l. fre- 
quently cordate at base, hastate- or deltoid-lanceolate, acuminate 
or cuspidate, sometimes white-spotted. Stems prickly. A. 5ft. 
to l0ft. South Europe, &c., 1618. (S F. G. 959) > 
a. angustifolia (narrow-leaved). J. narrow, 
(L. B. C. 1799, under name of S. sagittefolia.) 
5. a. mauritanica (Mediterranean).* /l. greenish-yellow 
rant. A very beautiful, half-hardy, PEKA pia aimbe of 
considerable size, well suited for conservatory decoration. 1884. 
(G. C. n. s., xxii. p. 185.) 
S. a. punctata (spotted). A variety havi 
with white. (R. G. 683.) variety having the leaves spotted 
elongated. 
asperrima (very rough). A garden name for ¢ ic 
at present cannot be y a laita y lhe A Sy 
S. auriculata (auricled). i. small, very fragrant. fr., berr 
small, globular. l. green, glossy, and widened at the base so j 
to become sub-hastate ; the front portion three-nerved, with two 
short, additional nerves in the widened basal angles. Stems 
striated, freely furnished with short, white, recurved spines. 
Southern United States, 1884. An elegant, half-hardy, evergreen 
climber. i 
Smilax—continued. 
S. australis (Southern). fl. white, or pale green or purple; 
umbels many-flowered, on axillary peduncles. Summer. 1. from 
ovate-lanceolate or oblong to nearly orbicular, 2in. to 4in. long, 
or rarely much larger; petioles short and twisted. Stems and 
branches usually more or less armed with scattered prickles. 
h. 3ft. to 5ft. or more. Australia, 1791. Syn. S. latifolia. 
S. Bona-nox (Good-night). fi. greenish-white; peduncles longer 
than the petioles. June and July. J. tardily deciduous, varying 
from round-cordate and slightly contracted above the dilated 
base to fiddle-shaped and halberd-shaped or three-lobed, green 
and shining on both sides, cuspidate-pointed, the margins often 
somewhat bristly-ciliate or spinulose.. Branches and branchlets 
sparsely armed with small, rigid prickles. A. 5ft. to 10ft. North 
America, 1739. Syn. S. tamnoides. 
S. B.-n, hastata (halberd-shaped). 
type, thickly beset with prickles on the margins. 1820. 
S. B.-n. rubens (reddish). Z., tendrils purplish. Branches 
sparsely prickly. (W. D. B. 108, under name of S. rubens.) 
S. China. China Root. fl. greenish-white; peduncles much 
shorter than the leaves, longer than the petioles. August. 
l. deciduous, ovate-rounded, the young ones abruptly narrowed: 
and acute at the base, at length sub-cordate, acute, cuspidate, 
or retuse at apex, entire. h. 20ft. China and Japan, 1759. The 
edible root is very large, fleshy, and reddish. 
S. discolor (discoloured). 7. about 9in. long and 4in. broad, 
oblong-ovate, suddenly acuminate, firm, irregularly blotched 
when young with purplish-brown, five-nerved. Mexico. 
l. narrower than in the 
Fig. 497. SMILAX ORNATA. 
S. glauca (glaucous). jl. greenish-white ; peduncles longer than 
the petioles, flattened. July. Z. tardily deciduous or partly 
persistent, ovate, rarely sub-cordate, glaucous beneath, and some- 
times also above (as well as the young branchlets), abruptly 
mucronate, the edges smooth and naked. Branches terete, ‘and, 
as well as the somewhat quadrangular branchlets, armed with 
scattered, stout prickles, or naked. k. 3ft. North America, 
1815. (B. M. 1816; W. D. B. 111, under name of S. Sarsaparilla.) 
S., glyc ylla (sweet-leaved). Botany Bay Tea and Tree 
J., perianth nearly globular in bud; peduncles axillary and 
simple, or a few of the upper ones in a terminal panicle. Summer. 
l. lanceolate or ovate-lane.olate, lin. to din. long or rarely 
more, acute or acuminate, narrowed or rounded, or rarely almost 
cordate at base, rigid, often glaucous or white beneath, some- 
times green on both sides; petioles twisted, bearing slender 
tendrils. Australia. Plant glabrous, unarmed. Greenhouse. 
S. herbacea (herbaceous). Carrion Flower. fl. carrion-scented ; 
peduncles elongated, 3in. to 4in., or sometimes 6in. to 8in., long, 
twenty to forty-flowered. June. ¢. much shorter than the 
peduncles, long-petiolate, membranous, ovate- oblong or rounded, 
mostly cordate, mucronate-tipped, smooth, Stem herbaceous, 
