314 THE STORY OF PLANT LIFE 



The fruit is a capsule, and when ripe it opens and 

 the seeds fall near the plant. 



Butter-and-eggs is the only other English name 

 for this plant. 



The name denotes the time of flowering as in the 

 Whitlow Grass and other spring flowers. 



Leucojum vernum. — The leaves are shown in part 

 in Fig. 85. As a rule there are one to two flowers^ 

 hut here three are borne on the scape. The scape is 

 bifid above, 



79. The Black Bryony Group. 



{Introductory Volume^ p. 2og.) 



Of the Order Dioscoraceae, which includes the 

 Black Bryony only amongst British plants, there are 

 some 170 species and nine genera. 



They are found in the Tropical and Warm Tem- 

 perate regions, mainly in the former. Amongst the 

 exotic types is the Yam. 



There appears to be affinity between this group 

 and Smilaceae. 



In this group many of the plants are climbing 

 plants, others are shrubs. The stem twines to the 

 left. The rootstock is tuberous or woody, or a 

 rhizome. The leaves are net-veined, contrary to 

 the usual rule in the Monocotyledons. They are 

 alternate, often arrow-shaped. 



The inflorescence is racemose. The flowers are 

 unisexual, the plant dioecious as a rule, regular, incon- 



