466 LILIACE.E. (LILY FAMILY.^ 



1. ASPARAGUS, L. Asparagus. 



Perianth 6-parted, spreading above : the 6 stamens at their base. Style short: 

 Btigmo 3-lobed. Berry spherical. 3-celled; the cells 2-secded. — Perennials, 

 with much-branched stems from thick and matted rootstocks, very narrow leaves 

 in clusters, and small greenish-yellow axillary flowers. (The ancient Greek 

 name.) 



1. A. officinalis, L. (Garden Asparagus.) Herbaceous ; bushy- 

 branched; leaves thread-like. — Sparingly escaped from gardens into waste 

 places on the coast. June. (Adv. from Eu.) 



2. POLYGONATUM, Tourn. Solomon's Seal. 



Perianth tubular, 6-lobed at the summit ; the 6 stamens inserted on or above 

 the middle of the tube, included. Ovary 3-celled, with 2-6 ovules in each cell : 

 style slender, deciduous by a joint : stigma obtuse or capitate, obscurely 3-lobed. 

 Berry globular, black or blue ; the cells 1 - 2-seeded. — Perennial herbs, with 

 simple erect or curving stems, rising from creeping thick and knotted rootstocks, 

 above bearing nearly sessile or half-clasping nerved leaves, and axillary nod- 

 ding greenish flowers. (The ancient name, composed of ttoXvs, many, and 

 yovv, knee, alluding to the numerous joints of the rootstocks and stems.) — 

 Ours are all alternate-leaved species, and with the stem terete or scarcely angled 

 when fresh. 



1. P. feifldrsmi, Ell. (Smaller Solomon's Seal.) Glabrous, except 

 the ovate-oblong or lance-oblong nearly sessile leaves, which are commonly mi- 

 nutely pubescent, at least on the veins (but sometimes smooth), as well as pale or 

 glaucous underneath; stem slender (l°-3° high) ; peduncles 1-3- but mostly 2- 

 flowered ; filaments papillose-roughened, inserted towards the summit of the cylin- 

 drical-oblong perianth. (Convallaria biflora, Walt. C. pubescens, Willd. Po- 

 lygonatum pubescens, angustifolium, & multiflorum, Pursh.) — Wooded banks; 

 common. — Perianth ^' long, greenish. 



2. P. gigiisitcuill, Dietrich. (Great Solomon's Seal.) Glabrous 

 throughout; stem stout and tall (3° -8° high), terete; leaves ooate, partly clasp- 

 ing (5' -8' long), or the upper oblong and nearly sessile, many-nerved, green 

 both sides ; peduncles several- (2-8-) flowered ; filaments smooth and naked, or nearly 

 so, inserted on the middle of the tube of the cylindrical-oblong perianth. (Con- 

 vallaria eanaliculata, Willd. Polygonatum canaliculatum, Pursh. P. commu- 

 tatum, Dietrich.) — River-banks and woods, in alluvial soil; not rare. June. 

 (The stem not being at all channelled in the living plant, it is better to dis- 

 card the earlier name of canaliculatum.) —Pedicels £'-1^' long: perianth §' 

 long. 



3. P. latifoliuni, Desf. Upper part of the stem (2° -3° high), the 1 - 5- 

 flowered peduncles, pedicels, and lower surface of the ovate or oblong mostly 

 petioled leaves more or less pubescent ; filaments glabrous. (P. hirtum, Pursh. Con- 

 vallaria hirta, Poir.) — Pennsylvania, Muhlenberg! — This appears to be essen- 

 tially the European P. latifolium. 



P. multiflorum, with hirsute filaments, I have never seen in this country. 



