CARRION FLOWER 



Smilax lasioneura Hook. 



June Tliiou^di the heavy black alluvial ^-oil ol" the 



River bottom woods, river-bottoms forest in s])riii<j there comes the 



roadsides asparafrus-likc ti|) of llic can-ion flower. It is 



stiff, not like a. vine at lirst. 'Vho smooth stalk 

 w ith its aliLMjiati'ly placed oval or heart-shaped leaves rises eobra-like into 

 the air. Tendrils emerge from axils of tlie smooth, blue-green leaves and 

 seem to grope for a ])laee on \\lii( li to lastcii tliemselves. When the ten- 

 drils at last make eontact. the plant urows more resilient and twining, 

 and grows upw.'ird by means of the support of a nearby bush or low tree. 



In early June tlu>re are long, stiff, smooth stems which spring frem 

 leaf or stem axils, and tliese stems bear tight clusters of gi-eenish-yell«»w 

 or whitish flowers. ^Fhey are six-pa i-fiMl with six ]»rotruding and recurving 

 stamens, and are heavily seentt>d witb the umnistakable odor of carriim. 

 To this apparently are attracted insects which also devour carrion or lay 

 their eggs in it, and by their assistance the flowers are pollinated. 



All sinnmer the smooth green vines of carrion flower twine in the 

 dusky bottondand forest. Moscjuitoes arc voracious; nettles grow high; 

 the crayfish chimneys are dry and fall over as a ])assing fishennan walks 

 by. Now in early autumn the fruit of the carrion flower is ripe. In the 

 same fonn of a tight ball, the blue-black fruits, covered with a whitish 

 bloom nnich in the manner of wild gra})es, are held in the bright sunshine. 

 Altiiough they so greatly resemble tight bunches of grapes, the fruits 

 of carrion vine apparently are not edible, and not even the passing robins 

 seem interested in eatin«: them. 



i;u 



