544 CLI. SMILACEZ. — 
2-<eeded; seeds membranaceously margined. — Slender, shrubby 
climbers, twining with the sun. Lvs. simple and palmately veined or 
palmately divided. F'ls. green, inconsprcwous, in axillary spikes or 
vanicles. 
D, vituésa. (D. quaternata, Ph.) Yam Root, _, 
Lws. broad-ovate, cordate, acuminate, 9—11-veined, the margin entire. or 
wavy, lower surface villose with short, soft hairs, upper surface glabrous ; 
petioles elongated, the lowest somewhat verticillate in 4s, the next subopposite, 
the middle and upper alternate ; g\ plant with the spikes paniculate, 2 with the 
spikes simple —A delicate twining vine, in thickets and hedges, U. 8. and Can., 
rare in N. Eng. Stem woolly, smooth, reddish-brown, 1—2/ diam., 5—10— 
15f long, running over bushes and fences. Leaves 2—4/ long, 3 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. Pedunclesaxillary. Ovaries at first elliptic, finally almost 
as broad as long. June, July. 
B. leviuscula. Wood. (D. quaternata. Pursh.) Lvs. smooth both sides, mar- 
gin slightly wavy; otherwise indistinguishable from variety a. 
Orver CLI. SMILACE A.—Sarsaparti.yas. 
Herbs or shrubs, often climbing. Lvs. reticulate-veined. 
Fis. divecious or perfect. Perianth free from the ovary, 6-parted, regular. 
Sta. 6, inserted into the base of the segments. 
Ova. 3-celled; cells 1 or many-seeded. : Le 
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- 
parilias are the roots of several chiefly S. American species of Smilax. 
SMILAX. 
Gr. cythn, a grater; the stems of some species are rough with prickles. 
Flowers 3 @; perianth broad-campanulate. o' Anthers adnate. 
@ Style minute; stigmas 3; berry 3-celled, 1—8-seeded—% or 
shrubby, mostly climbing by stipular tendrils, often prickly. Lys. entire, 
petiolate, palmately veined. F'ls. wmbellate. 
* Stem shrubby and prickly. 
1. S. RoTuNDIFoLIA (and caduca. Linn. S. quadrangularis. Fh) 
St. terete or sub-4-sided, flexuous, aculeate, ligneous, climbing; /ws. 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 143’, 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. ; 
B. caduca. Smaller, with ovate leaves shorter than the peduncles. 
y. quadrangularis. St. unarmed above, obtusely 4-angled ; dvs. ovate. 
2. S. saRsAPARILLA. Medicinal Sarsaparilla. 
« St. slightly 4-angled, aculeate above; /vs. unarmed, elliptical-ovate, 
euspidate, abrupt, 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 coe thin umbels, yellowish-white. Berries (red, Woodville, black, Pursh.) 
3-seeded. ; 
3. S. vaurtrouia. Lawrel-leaved Green Brier. aed 
St. aculeate, terete, branches unarmed; lus. coriaceous, oval-lanceolate, 
— se ee 
