30 LILIACEAE 



angular at the base. They branch abundantly, and the branch- 

 lets are definitely 4-sided and zigzag. The spines are flattened 

 at their bases and extend their sharp, black tips outward to a 

 distance of about one-third inch. As a rule there are no spines 

 on the nodes, but on the internodes, particularly of the main 

 stem, from 3 to a dozen may occur. The leaves generally are 

 ovate but vary from nearly round or rotund to lanceolate, and 

 occasionally some leaves are constricted below the middle. They 

 measure li/^ to 6 inches in length by l/^ to nearly 6 inches wide. 

 The blade is acute and often cuspidate at the tip, narrowed, 

 rounded or cordate at the base, and more or less denticulate 

 along the edges. The denticulations are rarely colored. Gener- 

 ally the leaf is a little paler beneath than above and usually dull 

 green on both faces but sometimes glossy green. The main 

 nerves are most apparent beneath and number 5 or 7. Usually 

 3 of them, less frequently 5, unite at the leaf tip. The petioles 

 are round and short, measuring one-fifth to four-fifths inch in 

 length. 



The flowers, standing in umbels in leaf axils, are borne on 

 pedicels generally shorter than the leaf petioles, and the pistil- 

 late and staminate flowers are produced in separate umbels, the 

 pistillate numbering about 20 per umbel, the staminate generally 

 fewer. From 3 to 8 of the pistillate flowers of each group ma- 

 ture into globose, blue to blackish, bloom-covered berries, ^4 

 inch or a little more in diameter. Each berry contains 1 to 3 

 mahogany-red seeds. 



Distribution. — The North American range of the Common 

 Greenbrier extends from Nova Scotia southwestward into 

 Iowa and southward from this northern limit into most of the 

 territory included between Georgia and Texas. In Illinois, it 

 has been reported from all parts of the state, but in the extreme 

 northern counties it is rare. 



SMI LAX GLAUCA Walter 



Sawbrier 



The Sawbrier, fig. 3, is a spiny, slender-stemmed vine with 

 abundant, longish, rather straight, leafy branchlets. Its stems 

 are green and smooth, ]/^ to ^4 ir^^h in diameter, and beset with 

 numerous short, straight or recurved spines up to one-third inch 

 long. The slender branchlets are round or, less often, somewhat 





