+ 
428 CONVALLARIACEAE. 
Leaves in 1 or 2 whorls below the flower or flowers. 
Leaves in 2 whorls; flowers umbelled. 9. Medeola. 
Leaves in 1 whorl; flowers solitary. 10. Trillium. 
1. ASPARAGUS L. Sp. Pl. 313. 1753. 
Stem at first simple, fleshy, scaly, at length much branched; the branchlets filiform and 
mostly clustered in the axils of the scales in the following species, flattened and linear, 
lanceolate or ovate in some others. Flowers small, solitary, umbelled or racemed. Peri- 
anth-segments alike, separate or slightly united at the base. Stamens inserted at the bases 
of the perianth-segments; filaments mostly filiform; anthers ovate or oblong, introrse. 
Ovary sessile, 3-celled; ovules 2 in each cavity; style slender, short; stigmas 3, short, re- 
curved. Berry globose. Seeds few, rounded. 
[Ancient Greck name. } 
About too species, natives of the Old World. 
1. Asparagus officinalis L. Asparagus. WWW 
(Fig. 1028.) 
Uy 
Ss 
4 
Asparagus officinalis I,. Sp. Pl. 313. 1753+ = | W 
Rootstock much branched. Young stems succu- ~— ZB 
lent, edible, stout, later branching, and becoming Z ] 
3°-7° tall, the filiform branchlets 3/’-9’’ long, less ) W/Z | 
than 4’ thick, mostly clustered in the axils of y v 
minute scales. Flowers mostly solitary at the = \ | (\ ' 
nodes, green, drooping on filiform jointed pedun- SQ y 
cles; perianth campanulate, about 3/’ long, the ‘f a j Wy f, 
segments linear, obtuse; stamens shorter than the SQ) \\ a 
perianth; berry red, about 4’ in diameter. ~ \\ A 
Escaped from cultivation and naturalized, especially > (f 
along salt marshes, New Brunswick to Virginia, and ZA J 
locally’ in waste places in the interior. Native of Md 
Europe. May-June, or flowering also in the autumn. 
xX 
2. CLINTONIA Raf. Journ. Pys. 89: 102. 1819. 
Somewhat pubescent scapose herbs, with slender rootstocks, erect simple scapes, and few 
broad petioled sheathing basal leaves, the bractless flowers umbelled at the summit of the 
scape in our species. Perianth-segments distinct, equal or nearly so, erect-spreading. Sta- 
mens 6, inserted at the bases of the perianth-segments; filaments filiform; anthers oblong, 
laterally dehiscent. Ovary 2-3-celled; ovules 2-several in each cavity; style stout or slender; 
stigma obscurely 2-3-lobed. Berry globose or oval. [Name in honor of De Witt Clinton, 
1769-1828, American naturalist, Governor of the State of New York. ] 
Six species, the following of eastern North America, 2 of western North America, 2 Asiatic. 
Flowers greenish-yellow, drooping, 8’’-10'’ long; berry blue. 1. C. borealts. 
Flowers white, not drooping, 4’’-5’’ long; berry black. 2. C. umbellulata, 
1. Clintonia borealis (Ait.) Raf. Yellow Clintonia. (Fig. 1029.) 
Dracaena borealis Ait. Hort. Kew. 1: 454. _ 1789. 
Clintonia borealis Raf. Atl. Journ. 120. 1832. 
Scape 6’-15’ high, pubescent above or nearly 
glabrous. Leaves 2-5, usually 3, oval, oblong or 
obovate, thin, shorter than the scape, I 4/—3 14’ 
wide, ciliate, short-acuminate or cuspidate; um- 
bel 3-6-flowered; flowers drooping, greenish 
yellow, 8’’-10’’ long; pedicels 3/’-15’’ long, slen- 
der, pubescent, erect or ascending in fruit; peri- 
anth-segments obtuse or acutish; stamens about 
as long as the perianth; ovary 2-celled; ovules 
numerous, in 2 rows in each cavity, style slen- 
der, somewhat thickened above, about equalling 
the stamens; berry oval, blue, several-seeded, 
about 4’” in diameter. 
In moist woods and thickets, Newfoundland to 
Ontario and Minnesota, south to North Carolina and 
Wisconsin. Ascends to 4500 ft. in Virginia. A 
flower is occasionally borne on the scape below the 
umbel, and rarely a small leaf. May-June. 
