TRILLIACE^E. 359 



Swamps. Jamestown, Chatauque county, N. Y. Torr. Can. to Car. ? 

 May, June. 1J.. Leaves 2 5, radical or nearly so, 6 9 inches long. Scape 

 usually longer than the leaves. Flowers 15 30, in an umbel or .a corymo, 

 white, odorous, much smaller than in the preceding species. 



Small-flowered Clintonia. 



4. POLYGONATUM. Desf. Solomon's Seal. 



(From the Greek iroXvs, many, and yow, a knee ; in allusion to its many-jointed 

 rhizoma.) 



Perianth tubular, 6-cleft. Stamens 6, inserted near the sum- 

 mit of the tube. Ovary superior. Berry subglobose, 3 -celled ; 

 cells 2-seeded. 



P. muUiflorum AIL : stem nearly terete ; leaves ovate-elliptic or elliptic- 

 lanceolate, clasping ; peduncles 1 6-flowered ; filaments smooth or slightly 

 pubescent ; ovules 3 6 in each cell of the ovary. ( Torr. N. Y. Fl.) P. 

 biflorum Ell. P. pubescens, canaliculatum, latifolium, hirsutum and midti- 

 florum Pursh. 



Rocky woods, banks of streams, &c. Can. to Car. June, July. 9J.. Khi~ 

 zoma thick and fleshy. Stem 1 3 feet high, simple, slightly curved, round or a 

 little angular and channelled. Leaves variable in size and form. Flowers green- 

 ish-white, usually 2 4, sometimes 56, rarely 1, on recurved peduncles. I 

 adopt the views of Darlington and Torrey in regard to the identity of several 

 supposed distinct species of this genus. Common Solomon's Seal. 



ORDER CXXXI. TRILLIACE^E. PARIDS. 



Perianth 6-parted ; 3 inner segments larger, colored or her- 

 baceous. Stamens 6 10 ; filaments subulate ; anthers linear. 

 Ovary free, 3 5-celled ; styles as many, distinct ; stigmas in- 

 conspicuous. Fruit succulent, 3 5-celled. Seeds numerous, 

 with fleshy albumen. Herbaceous plants, with simple stems, 

 verticillate leaves and large terminal solitary flowers. 



1. MEDEOLA. Linn. Indian Cucumber. 



(From Mijdeo, the name of a sorceress ; on account of the reputed virtues of 

 the plant.) 



Perianth petaloid. G-parted, revolute. Stamens 6, inserted 

 at the base of the perianth. Styles 3, filiform, elongated, di- 

 varicate. Berry 3-celled ; cells 1 3-seeded. 



M. Virginica Linn. Gyromia Virginica Nutt. 



Moist woods. Can. to Geor. May, June. %.. Stem 1218 inches high, 

 erect. Leaves in 2 whorls ; one about the middle of the stem, of 6 8 oblong- 

 lanceolate acuminate leaves ; the other near the top, of 2 3 smaller ovate ones. 

 Flowers 3 6, on pedicels arising from the upper whorl, greenish-yellow, re- 

 flexed. Cucumber Root 



