142 A FLORA OF MANILA 
in the inner angles of the cells. Fruit a 3-, rarely 1-celled, 1- to many- 
seeded capsule or a berry. 
Genera 215, species about 2,500, in all parts of the world, 15 genera and 
about 25 species in the Philippines. 
1. Prickly tendril-bearing. vines, with 3- to 5-nerved leaves, the flowers 
small, in axillary: winibels)2. 062 22s dcp accbeeeeede oe 1. Smilax 
1. Herbs or shrubby plants without tendrils, usually erect and unarmed. 
2. Leaves replaced by linear or acicular cladodes.................. 2. Asparagus 
2. Leaves present, broad, linear, or cylindric. 
3. Stemless herbs. 
4, Strong-scented herbs from underground bulbs, with narrow or 
cylindric leaves; flowers umbellate..........00000002.-..00 eee 3.: Allium 
4. Rootstock stoloniferous; leaves broad, flat, fleshy; flowers race- 
TCT. [nee Ce eT cae ADEA Pe MENGE SUEDE DEP UN eC dp. 4. Sansevieria 
3. Shrubby plants. 
5. Leaves thin, colored, long-petioled...........0..00-2000.00000...- 5. Cordyline 
5. Leaves rigid, sessile, tipped with a sharp spine................ 6. Yucca 
1. SMILAX Linnaeus 
Climbing, prickly, more or less woody vines. Leaves alternate, 3- to 
7-nerved, reticulate with cross-veinlets, the petiole usually bearing 2 
tendrils above the base. Flowers small, dioecious, in axillary, peduncled 
umbels, the perianth-segments 6, free. Male flowers with 6 or more free 
stamens. Female flowers with 3 or 6 staminodes. Ovary 3-angled, 3-celled; 
ovules 1 or 2 in each cell. Fruit a globose, 1- to 3-seeded berry. (The 
Greek name of the yew.) i 
Species about 200 in temperate and tropical regions of both hemispheres, 
about 7 in the Philippines. 
1. S. bracteata Presl. Obat, Camagsa-obat; Hampas-tigbalang (Tag.) ; 
Banag (Vis.). 
A woody vine reaching a height of several meters, the stems armed with 
few to many stout spines. Leaves elliptic to oblong-ovate, 7-nerved, 8 to 
13 cm long, base broadly rounded or slightly cordate, apex shortly and 
abruptly acuminate, of about the same color on both surfaces. Umbels 
many-flowered, about 2 cm in diameter, in axillary racemes. Flowers 
greenish-yellow, about 5 mm long, fragrant. Berries globose, 5 to 8 mm 
in diameter, black when mature. 
In thickets, Masambong, fl. May-June; widely distributed in the Philip- 
pines. Endemic. 
2. ASPARAGUS Linnaeus 
Erect, climbing or ‘straggling, herbaceous plants from stout, creeping, or 
sometimes tuberiferous rootstocks, the stems round, grooved, or angled. 
Leaves reduced to minute scales, bearing in their axils tufts of needle-like 
or flattened, green branchlets (cladodes). Flowers small axillary, solitary, 
‘fascicled, or racemed, their pedicels jointed. Perianth campanulate, 6- 
parted. Stamens inserted on the bases of the segments. Ovary 3-angled, 
3-celled, cells with 2 or more ovules. Fruit a small, globose, 3- to 6-seeded 
berry. (The ancient Greek name.) 
Species about 100, in Europe and temperate and tropical Asia and Africa, 
ene indigenous and several introduced species in the Philippines. 
