SMILACACEAE 281 



3. Nemexia Biltmoreana Small. Stems 2.5-6 dm. tall : leaf-blades ovate, 6-12 cm. 

 long, wholly glabrous, and glaucous beneath, thick even during anthesis : sepals of the 

 staminate flowers oblong or ovate-oblong, 2.5-4 mm. long, ciliolate at the apex. 



On hillsides and in woods, about Biltmore, North Carolina. 



4. Nemexia diversifolia Small. Stems 1-3 m. long, climbing : leaves numerous ; 

 blades ovate or oval-ovate, 3-5 cm. long, terminating in abrupt slightly twisted tips, dark 

 green above, pale and minutely pubescent on the nerves and veins beneath, prominently 

 3-nerved, truncate or subcordate at the base : blades of the bracts subtending the peduncles, 

 lanceolate, acuminate, somewhat smaller than those of the leaves : tendrils filiform, devel- 

 oped at the majority of the leaves : peduncles stout, twice or thrice as long as the bracts : 

 pedicels (pistillate) 20-25, 8-10 mm. long, slightly thickened upward : berries subglobose, 

 about 5 mm. in diameter. [Smilax diversifolia Small.] 



In river swamps, middle Georgia. 



5. Nemexia pulveru!6nta (Michx. ) Small. Stems elongated, climbing, often stout, 

 leaves numerous ; blades ample, ovate to elliptic-ovate, 8-15 cm. long, short-acuminate, 

 usually 9-nerved, cordate at the base : peduncles as long as the petioles or longer : pedicels 

 5-12 mm. long : perianth greenish : sepals and petals about 5 mm. long, acutish, those of 

 the staminate flowers oblong-ovate : filaments about twice as long as the anthers or shorter : 

 berries subglobose, 8-10 mm. in diameter. [Smilax pulverulenta Michx.] 



In alluvial soil, Ontario to Wisconsin, North Carolina and Missouri. 



6. Nemexia tnuis Small. Stems elongated, commonly simple, slender, glabrous : 

 leaves rather few ; blades thin, triangular-ovate, 5-9 cm. long, acuminate, coarsely erose- 

 denticulate, 5-nerved, with an inconspicuous sprinkling of minute hairs beneath, truncate 

 at the base ; tendrils few, sometimes developed from the sheaths of the upper leaves, fili- 

 form : peduncles as long as the subtending bracts or longer, nearly filiform : pedicels 

 (staminate) 15-25, 6-8 mm. long : sepals and petals greenish, oblong or linear-oblong, 2.5 

 mm. long : filaments barely twice as long as the anthers. [Smilax tennis Small.] 



In sandy woods, Louisiana. 



7. Nemexia herbacea (L. ) Small. Stems elongated, climbing, glabrous: leaves 

 numerous ; blades ovate, triangular-lanceolate to lanceolate, essentially alike throughout 

 the plant, 4-8 cm. long, short-acuminate, 7-9-nerved, rounded or truncate at the base : 

 bracts subtending the peduncles like the leaves : peduncles much surpassing the subtending 

 bracts at maturity : flowers carrion-scented : sepals and petals greenish, oblong or broadened 

 upward, acutish : filaments twice or thrice as long as the anthers : berries subglobose, 

 bluish black, 6-8 mm. in diameter. 



In woods and thickets, New Brunswick to Manitoba, Florida and Louisiana. CARRION-FLOWEK. 



8. Nemexia tarn nifdlia (Michx. ) Small. Stems erect or reclining, terete or obtusely 

 angled, commonly simple : leaf-blades thickish, 5-7-nerved, ovate-hastate or linear-lanceo- 

 late, 5-12 cm. long, more or less constricted at or about the middle, green on both sides, 

 truncate or cordate at the base, the basal lobes rounded ; peduncles solitary or 3 from the 

 same axil, shorter than the subtending bracts or surpassing them at maturity : umbels 10- 

 30-flowered : pedicels 4-6 mm. long : sepals and petals greenish, those of the staminate 

 flowers slightly pubescent, those of the pistillate often glabrous, oblong, 2 mm. long, rather 

 obtuse : berries subglobose, 4-6 mm. in diameter, black, 1-3-seeded. 



In thickets and marshy grounds, New Jersey and Pennsylvania to South Carolina and Tennessee. 



2. SMIL AX L. 



Prickle-armed vines, with elongated often tuberous rootstocks and perennial stems. 

 Leaf-blades leathery, entire or lobed : petioles present, furnished with coiling appendages. 

 Umbels on short, often stout peduncles. Pedicels usually accompanied by bractlets. Stamens 

 6, reduced in the pistillate flowers. Ovary 3-celled, wanting or abortive in staminate 

 flowers, 2 of the cavities sometimes suppressed. Ovule 1 in each cavity. Berry red, blue or 

 black, with 3 bands of strengthening tissue connected at the base and the top. CATBRIER. 

 GREENBRIER. HORSEBRIER. SMILAX. 



A. Peduncles of pistillate plants much longer than the subtending petioles. 

 Leaf-blades glaucous beneath. 



Blades of the leaves, or bracts subtending the peduncles, little longer than broad : berries about 



8 mm. in diameter. 1. S. glauca. 



Blades of the leaves, or bracts subtending the peduncles, twice or thrice as 



long as broad : berries about 10 mm. in diameter. 2. S. cinnamomifolia, 



Leaf-blades green on both sides. 



Leaf-blades broader than long. 3. S. renifolia. 



Leaf-blades longer than broad. 



