SMIL\X FAMILY 173 



Family 26. SMILACACEAE. Smilax Family. 



Vines, ^ith several-ribbed and netted-veined leaf-blades, articulate to 

 the petioles. Flowers dioecious, in peduncled axillary umbels. Sepals and 

 petals each 3, green, \\'ith spreading tips. Stamens 6; filaments flattened: 

 anthers introrse. Gj'noecium of 3 united carpels; stigmas 3, sessile. Fruit 

 a berry, 1-6-seeded. Endosperm bonj'. 



1. NEMEXIA Raf. Carrion Flower, Smilax. 



Unarmed "^Tnes, with herbaceous stems. Leaves membranous, broad. Ovules 

 2 in each cavity. Bern.- blue-black, with 3 bands of strengthening tissue. [Smi- 

 lax, in part.^ 



1. N. lasioneuron CHook) Rydb. A herbaceous vine, 1-2 m. long: petioles 

 2-5 cm. long; leaf-blades ovate-cordate, abruptly short-acuminate, 5-10 cm. 

 long, 5-9-ribbed, rather thin, glabrous above, scabrous-hirsutulous on the veins 

 beneath; peduncles -ir-T cm. long; umbel many-flowered; flowers greenish; petals 

 and sepals oblong, 4 mm. long; fruit 8-10 mm. thick, globose, purple with a 

 bloom. Smilax ta-noneuron Hook. .S. herbacea Coult. Woods: Sask. — Kans. 

 - — Colo. — Wyo. Plain — Submont. My-Je. 



Family 27. AMARYLLIDACEAE. Amaryllis Family. 



Perennial fleshy plants, ^dth bulbs, corins, rootstoclcs, or wood%^ caudices. 

 L^-aves basal, usually sheathing. Flowers perfect, racemose, paniculate, 

 umbellate or solitary. Sepals and petals each 3, epigjTious, often united 

 into a tube below, petaloid. Stamens 6. Gjoioeeium of 3 united carpels; 

 o^-ary inferior, 3-ceUed, or rarely onl}' partial!}' soj stjdes united. Fruit a 

 3-celled capsule or berr^'. 



Perennial herbs, with fleshy leaves (often spiny-toothed), clustered on the caude.x; 



anthers versatile: flowers in soLkes or panicles. 1. Agave. 



Perennial herbs, with grass-like leaves, from a subterranean corm or short rootsrock; 



anthers erect ; flowers in ours umbellate. 2. Htpoxis. 



1. AGAVE L. American Aloe, Cextcrt Plaxt. 



Partially woody plants, with a more or less elongated caudex. Leaves crowded 

 at the base, persistent several years, fleshy, thick, armed with spiny teeth, 

 spine-tipped, channeled. Perianth withering-persistent. Stamens 6: filaments 

 partly adnate to the perianth-tube; anthers versatile. Capsiile 3-celled, thick- 

 waUed; seeds numerous, in 2 rows in each cell, black, flattened. 



1. A. utahensis Engelm. Leaves very flesh}-, S-10 cm. long, terminating 

 in a long channeled spine, sinuate, with flat teeth; spike dense; flowers in pairs 

 or -i's; perianth yellowish, fully 1 cm. long; lobes oblong, obtuse, 3-4 times as 

 long as the tube; capsule 18-20 mm. long. Desert regions: s Utah — Ariz. L. 

 Son. 



2. HYPOXIS L. Sx.iR-GRASS. 



Acaulescent small herbs, with corms or short rootstocks and narrow grass-Uke 

 basal leaves. Flowers perfect, regular. Sepals and petals each 3, equal, dis- 

 tinct above the ovar\-, yellow or whitish, the sepals green ■without. Stamens 6; 

 filaments adnate only to the base of the perianth, short. Capsule 3-f-elled, thin. 

 1. H. hirsuta (L.) CovUle. Leaves narrowly linear, 2-5 mm. wide, longer 

 than the scape, more or less villous; scape 5-15 cm. high, 1-6-flowered; flowers 

 umbellate, 6-10 mm. long, bright vellow within, \-lllous without. H. erecta L. 

 Meadows: Me.— Fla.— Tex.— .?ask. Plain. My-0. 



Family 2S. IRIDACEAE. Iris Family. 



Perennial herbs, with elongated or bulb-like rootstocks and narrow equi- 

 tant, 2-ranked leaves. Flowers perfect, regular or nearh- so. Sepals and 



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