378 LILIACE^E. [FAius. 



1. P. quadrifo lia, L. ; leaves ovate-oblong or obovate. 



Woods from Renfrew and Moray southwards, local ; absent from Ireland ; fl. 

 May-June. Glabrous. Rootstock white, creeping. Stem 6-12 in., terete, 

 leafy at the top, sheath basal. Leaves 4 (rarely 3-8), 3-5 in., acute, 3-5- 

 nerved. Flower 1^-lf in. diam., solitary ; peduncle -3 in. , erect. Sepals 

 green, acuminate. Petals as long, yellow. Connective much produced. 

 Berry 4-6-celled, black, bursting irregularly. Seeds black, testa coria- 

 i. DISTRIB. Europe (Arctic), Siberia, W. Asia. Rootitock purgative. 



a. ASPARAGUS, L. ASPARAGUS. 



Eootstock stout, creeping. Stem slender, branched, terete or angled 

 (sometimes spiny and climbing). Leaves minute scales, bearing in their 

 axils fascicles of needle-like branches (cladodes). Flmoers small, 1-2- 

 sexual, pendulous, axillary ; pedicel jointed. Perianth campanulate, 

 segments connate at the base. Stamens on the base of the segments ; 

 anthers oblong. Ovary 3-gonous ; styles combined, stigmas 3 ; cells 

 several -ovuled. Berry globose. Seeds 3-6, testa black brittle ; embryo 

 dorsal, clavate, radicle far from the hilum. DISTRIB. Temp, and trop. 

 Asia, Africa ; species 60-70. ETYM. The old Greek name. 



1. A. officina'lis, L. ; stems erect terete flexuous, branches slender. 

 Coasts of England, from Anglesea and Suffolk southwards, rare and local ; 

 naturalized only in Scotland ; S.E. of Ireland ; fl. June- Aug. Stern 1-2 ft., 

 annual ; young shoots scaly below, scales triangular. Cladodes J in. 

 Flowers 1-2, |-| in., axillary, dirty white, or yellow with red veins ; pedicel 

 as long, jointed at the middle. Berry i in. diam., red. DISTRIB. Europe, 

 N. Africa, Siberia ; introd. in N. America. Diuretic. The origin of the 

 garden Asparagus, cultivated since the Roman period. 



3. RUS'CUS, L. BUTCHER'S BROOM. 



Shrubby, evergreen, subdioecious. Eootstock stout, creeping. Leaves 

 minute scales, bearing in the axils leaf-like branches (cladodes). Flmvers 

 minute, often on the face of the cladode. Perianth herbaceous, per- 

 sistent ; segments 6, spreading, inner smaller, all partially valvate in 

 bud. Stamens 3, filaments connate in a short stout column ; anthers 

 sessile, cells diverging below. Ovary enclosed in a fleshy cup (sta- 

 minal) 3-celled ; style short, stigma discoid ; ovules few. Berry usually 

 1 -celled. Seed 1, globose, or 2, plano-convex ; testa thin, adherent, 

 albumen horny; embryo minute, lateral, radicle far from the hilum. 

 DISTRIB. Temp. Europe, W. Asia, N. Africa ; species 4-5. ETYM. 

 Obscure. 



1. R. aculea tus, L. ; cladodes ovate rigid spinescent. 

 Copses and woods, from Suffolk and Glamorgan southwards, rare ; naturalized 

 in Scotland and Ireland ; fl. Feb. -April. Stems 10-24 in., tufted, branched, 

 erect, stout, angled, shoots scaly when young. Cladodes -! in., twisted 

 at the base. Flowert 1-2, J in. diam., bracteate and bracteolate, males on 

 narrower cladodes, very shortly pedicelled. Berry ^ in. diam., bright red. 

 DISTRIB. Europe from Belgium southwards, N. Africa, W. Asia. 



