^02 ORDER 145. SMILACE^S. 



glabrous, round or subcordate at base ; acuminate-cuspidate at apex ; ped. many- 

 flowered, little longer than the petioles ; berries black, glaucous. A strong, thorny 

 vine, extending 10 to 40f in hedges and thickets, U. S. and Can. St. woody, 

 smooth, except the scattered thorns which proceed from the wood. Branches 

 4-angled. Lvs. 2 to 3' by 1^ to 3'. cordate or tapering at base. Tendrils strong, 

 from the wings of the petioles. Fls. small, greenish, in small, axillary umbels. 

 Berries round, mostly 1-seeded. Mar. Jn. 



y3. CADUCA. Smaller, with ovate, thin Ivs. (S. caduca L.) 



y. QUADRANGULARIS. Branches 4-angled. (S. quadrangularis Muhl.) 



2 3. hispida Muhl. St. terete, climbing, hispid below with weak, slender prickles, 

 nearly unarmed above ; branchlets quadrangular; Ivs. glabrous, green both sides, 

 ovate, subcordate, cuspidate, rough-edged, 5-veined, thin, deciduous: ped. twice as 

 long as the petioles / berries black, 1 to 3-seeded. Thickets, N. T. to Mich, and 

 Can. Climbing 8 to 12 f. Lvs. 2 to 3' long, rather broadly ovate. Ped. 1' or 

 more in length. Umbels 4 to G-flowered. Jn. 



3 3. "Walter! Ph. St. armed or unarmed, with angular branches ; Ics. cordate- 

 ovate, ^-veined (or 5-veined, the 2 outer inconspicuous), glabrous ; ped. about as 

 long as the petioles berries of two forms, globular, and oblong-acuminate, red, 1 to 

 3-seeded. Woods, in the low districts, Va. to Fla Straggling stems climbing in 

 thickets. Lvs. deciduous, large (3 to 5' long), more or less cordate. Fls. fra- 

 grant. Apr. Jn. (S. China Walt.) 



4 3. glauca Walt. FALSE SARSAPAIULLA. St. slightly 4-angled and aculeate 

 above ; Ivs. ovate, cuspidate, 5-veined, edges smooth and entire, glaucous, espe- 

 cially beneath ; ped. twice or more longer than the petiole ; berries black, with a 

 bloom, 1 3-seeded. Thickets, L. IsL to Ga., W. to Ky. Root long, slender. 

 St. stout, somewhat flexuous, armed with a few scattered, hooked prickles. Lvs. 

 finally nearly orbicular, 2 to 3' diam., abruptly contracted at each end, with 3 

 strong veins and 2 lateral smaller ones. Petioles short, margined with 2 tendrils. 

 Fls. in small, thin umbels, yellowish-white. Mar. Jn. (S. Sarsaparilla Ph., etc., 

 nee L. S. spinulosa Torr.) 



5 S. Pseudo-China L. St. terete, unarmed ; caulino Ivs. ovate, cordate, ramial 

 ovate-oblong, all 5- veined, on short petioles; ped. flat, nearly as long as the leaves ; 

 berries black. ? Sandy woods, N. J. to Car., W. to Ohio. Root large, tuberou?. 

 St. purplish-brown, very smooth, branching and climbing by tendrils which arise 

 from the base of the petioles. Lvs. 2 to 4' by 1 to 2', slightly hispid on the veins 

 beneath. Ped. 2 to 3' long. May, Jn. 



G 3. sarsaparilla L. 1 St. and quadrangular branchlets unarmed ; Ivs. oblong- 

 ovate, thin, both sides green, 5-veined, cuspidate, rounded or subcordate at base ; 

 ped. flat, a little longer than the petioles ; berries large, globular, mostly 1-seeded, 

 bright pink-red when fully ripe. River banks, N. J. ? to Ky. and La. (Mr. R. 

 Green). Rt. with long, creeping rhizomes. Vines with tendrils. Lvs. large, 3 

 to 6' long, half as wide, deciduous. Ripe fruit persistent until Spring. Ped. 1 to 

 2' long. Apr. Jl. This is regarded in La. as the true medicinal Sursaparilla. 



7 S. tamnoides L. St. terete, branches and branchlets 4-angular, floxuous, acule- 

 ate ; Ivs. glabrous, ovate with the sides more or less concave, varying to hastate 

 or panduriform, acuminate, spinulous-scabrous on the margin, truncate or subcor- 

 date at base, 5 to 9-veined ; ped. 2 to 3 times longer than petiole; berrks spheri- 

 cal, black, 1-seeded. Sandy woods, N. J. to 111. and the S. States, common , 

 climbing S to 2 Of. Lvs. of various forms on different stems of the same root, 

 shining-green both sides, tardily deciduous, or sometimes, in sheltered situations, 

 persistent all winter. Mar., Apr. Jn. (S. panduratus, hastata, Bonanox. Ph. 

 et auct.) 



8 3. maritima Feay. St. armed; branches angukr, flexuous, unarmed; Ivs. lan- 

 ceolate, auriculate-hastate, coriaceous, 5-nerved at base, 3-nerved above, cuspidate, 

 glabrous, edges smooth and even ; ped. twice longer than the petiole, or shorter ; 

 berries large, 2 or 3-seeded, red before maturity, finally black. Sandy bluffs of 

 the salt-water rivers near the coast, Savannah and southward. Lvs. rarely some- 

 what ovate. Fls. very fragrant. Jn. (S. Beyrichii Kunth ? S. ovata Ph. The 

 latter name, although the earliest, is utterly inappropriate.) 



9 S. laurifolia L. St. aculeate, terete, branches flexuous, unarmed; Ivs. coria 



