COXVALLARIA.] LILIACE^. 379 



4. CONVALLA'RIA, L. LILY OF THE VALLEY. 

 A stemless herb. Rootstock creeping. Leaves 2-3, sheathed at the 

 base. Scape slender; flowers racemose. Perianth shortly campanulate, 

 segments connate, tips free recurved. Stamens on the base of the perianth, 

 included ; anthers subsagittate. Ovary ovoid, terete ; style simple, 

 stigma 3-gonous ; cells 2-ovuled. Berry globose. Seeds 23, subglobose, 

 testa thin white adherent, albumen horny ; embryo dorsal, radicle far from 

 thehilum. DISTKIB. Europe, N. Asia. ETYM. convallis, & valley. 



1. C. maja'lis, L. ; leaves ovate-lanceolate petioled. 



Woods from Moray to Kent and Somerset ; ascending to 1,000 ft. in the N. of 

 England; naturalized in Scotland and Ireland; fl. May-June. Leaves 

 6-8 in.; petiole long, slender, sheathing. Scape 6-10 in., angular; bracts 

 membranous ; raceme 6-12-flowered ; pedicels curved, flowers ^ in. diam., 

 white, drooping, almost globose. Berry red. 



5. POLYGONA'TUM, Tmirnef. 



Rootstock creeping. Stem leafy. Leaves alternate opposite or whorled. 

 Flowers axillary, solitary or racemed, pendulous, white green or purplish, 

 ebracteate. Perianth tubular-campauulate, mouth 6-cleft, outer lobes 

 subvalvate with replicate edges. Stamens on the middle of the tube, 

 included. Ovary and fruit of Convallaria. DISTRIB. Europe, N. Asia, 

 Himalaya, N. America ; species about 20. ETYM. iro\i/s and y6w, 

 alluding to the many nodes (knees). 



1. P. verticilla'tum, All. ; stem angled, leaves whorled narrow-lanceo- 

 late, filaments papillose. 



Wooded banks and glens, Bellingham Northumberland ; Athol, Rattray and 

 Dunkeld in Perthshire ; fl. June-July. Stem 2-3 ft. Leaves 3-5 in., sessile, 

 3-6 in a whorl (rarely 1 or 2), flaccid, margins and veins beneath ciliolate. 

 Peduncles \-% in., 1-3-flowered. Perianth $ in., greenish, contracted in the 

 middle. Berry $ in. diam. DISTRIB. Europe (Arctic), Siberia, Himalaya. 



2. P. nmltiflo'rum, A II. ; stem terete, leaves alternate subbifarious or 

 secund oblong ^-amplexicaul, filaments pubescent. Solomon's Seal. 

 Woods, from York to Kent and Devon ; rare and often naturalized, as in 



Scotland and Ireland ; fl. May-June. Stem 2-3 ft., naked below, arched. 

 Leaves 3-5 in., very shortly petioled, acute or obtuse. Peduncles 2-5- 

 flowered. Perianth in., greenish-white, constricted in the middle. Berry 

 % in. diam., blue-black. DISTRIB. Europe, Siberia, Dahuria. 



3. P. officina'le, All. ; stem angled, leaves alternate oblong subbifarious 

 4-amplexicaul, filaments glabrous. 



Wooded limestone cliffs, from the Border to Somerset and Wilts ; rare and 

 local ; absent from Ireland and Scotland ; fl. May-June. Stem 6-12 in., 

 arched. Leaves 3-4 in., subacute. Peduncles 1-3-flowered. Perianth 1 in., 

 greenish- white, tubular, constricted at the base. Berry ^ in. diam., blue- 

 black. DISTRIB. Europe, Siberia, Dahuria. 



6. SMIL.ACI NA, Desf. 



Rootstock slender, creeping. Stem erect, leafy. Leaves alternate. 

 Flowers white, terminal, racemed. Perianth of 4 free segments in 1 series, 



