444 



THE DICTIONARY OF GARDENING, 



Smilacina continued. 



the segments distinct or shortly connate towards the 

 base ; stamens six ; inflorescence terminal, shortly pedun- 

 culate, racemose or forming a simple panicle ; bracts 

 small or obsolete. Leaves alternate, very shortly petio- 

 late, ovate, lanceolate, or rarely narrow. The best- 

 known species are described below. They succeed in 

 any light soil, and may be readily increased by divi- 

 sions. 



S. bifolla (two-leaved). A synonym of Maianthemum bifolium. 

 S. borealis (Northern). A synonym of Clintonia borealis. 

 S. canadensis (Canadian). A synonym of ifaianthemum 



bifolium. 



S. Oleracea (culinary).* fl. in a deltoid, terminal panicle, 

 minutely bracteate ; perianth white, tinged with rose outside, 

 globose, about Jin. long and broad ; pedicels iin. long, deflexed 

 or ascending. May. fr., berry rose-purple, with dark spots. 

 I. 6in. to 7in. long, alternate, oblong-acuminate, minutely pubes- 

 cent beneath. Stem sub-erect, simple, h. 4ft. Sikkim, 1877. 

 (B. M. 6313, under rfame of Tovaria oleracea.) 

 S. racemosa (racemose). False Spikenard, fl. on solitary pedi- 

 cels ; perianth whitish, one line long ; panicle oblong or deltoid, 

 shortly pedunculate, 2in. to 6in. long, the branches dense- 

 flowered, ascending. May. I. ten to fifteen, ascending, oblong 

 or lanceolate, acuminate, Sin. to 9in. long, paler and puberulous 

 beneath. A. 2ft. to 3ft. North America, 1640. (B. M. 899, under 

 name of Convallaria racemosa.) 



S. stellate (star-like).* Star-flowered Lily of the Valley. 

 /., perianth white, two to three lines long ; racemes somewhat 

 dense, ten to twenty-flowered, very shortly pedunculate, lin. to 

 liin. long. May. I. six to fifteen, ascending, oblong or lanceo- 

 late, 2in. to 6in. long, acute or acuminate, sessile and semi- 

 amplexicaul, glaucous and puberulous beneath, h. 1ft. to 2ft 

 North-west America, 1633. (B. M. 1043 and L. B. C. 1080, under 

 name of ConvaUaria steUata.) 

 B. uniflora (one-flowered). A synonym of Clintonia uniflora. 



SMILAX (the ancient Greek name used by Theo- 

 phrastus). American China Boot. TRIBE Smilaceoe of 

 ORD. Liliacece. This genus embraces, according to Alph. 

 de Candolle, 187 species of stove, greenhouse, or hardy, 

 sarmentose shrubs, rarely dwarf and sub-herbaceous, 

 broadly dispersed over temperate and tropical regions. 

 Flowers small, dioecious, pedicellate, in umbels (or cyme- 

 lets), often numerous; stamens of the males six, rarely 

 indefinite ; staminodes of the females six or fewer ; 

 umbels pedunculate or sessile, axillary or terminal. 

 Leaves alternate, distichous, or rarely opposite, often 

 perennial; petioles furnished with two tendrils; floral 

 leaves usually reduced to bracts. Smilax is, on the 

 whole, one of the most important genera from an 

 economic standpoint. The roots of several species con- 

 stitute the well-known Sarsaparilla of our shops. The 

 rootstocks of 8. China are eaten by the Chinese; and 

 those of 8. Pseudo-China are used in the manufacture 

 of a kind of beer in South Carolina. A selection of 

 species grown in gardens is given below. They boast 

 of no particular beauty, but are plants of considerable 

 interest, and mostly hardy. A sandy-loam soil is best 

 adapted to their requirements. Propagation may be 

 effected by divisions of the root. 



S. aspera (rough).* Prickly Ivy. /. whitish or flesh-coloured, 

 fragrant ; spikes longer or shorter than the leaves. July. I. fre- 

 quently cordate at base, hastate- or deltoid-lanceolate, acuminate 

 or cuspidate, sometimes white-spotted. Steins prickly, h. 5ft. 

 to 10ft. South Europe, &c., 1648. (S. F. G. 959.) 

 S. a. angustifolia (narrow-leaved). I. narrow, elongated. 



(L. B. C. 1799, under name of S. sagittcefolia.) 

 S. a. mauritanica (Mediterranean).* fl. greenish-yellow, 

 fragrant. A very beautiful, half-hardy, evergreen climber, of 

 considerable size, well suited for conservatory decoration. 1884. 

 (G. C. n. s., xxii. p. 185.) 

 S.^a.^iranctata (spotted). A variety having the leaves spotted 



S. aspcrrima (very rough). A garden name for a plant which 

 at present cannot be determined. 



S. auriculata (auricled). fl. small, very fragrant, fr., berry 

 small, globular. I. green, glossy, and widened at the base so as 

 to become sub-hastate ; the front portion three-nerved, with two 

 short, additional nerves in the widened basal angles. Stems 

 striated, freely furnished with short, white, recurved spines 

 Southern United States, 1884. An elegant, half-hardy, evergreen 



Smilax continued. 



S. aiiBtralis (Southern). /. white, or pale green or purple ; 

 umbels many-flowered, on axillary peduncles. (Summer. I. from 

 ovate-lanceolate or oblong to nearly orbicular, 2in. to 4in. long, 

 or rarely much larger ; petioles short and twisted. Stems and 

 branches usually more or less armed with scattered prickles. 

 h. 3ft. to 5ft. or more. Australia, 1791. SYN. S. latifolia. 



S.Bona-nox (Good-night). /. greenish-white; peduncles longer 

 than the petioles. June and July. I. tardily deciduous, varying 

 from round-cordate and slightly contracted above the dilated 

 base to fiddle-shaped and halberd-shaped or three-lobed, green 

 and shining on both sides, cuspidate-pointed, the margins often 

 somewhat bristly-ciliate or spinulose. Branches and branchlets 

 sparsely armed with small, rigid prickles, h. 5ft. to 10ft. North 

 America, 1739. SYN. S. tamnoidcs. 



S. B.-n. hastate (halberd-shaped). 1. narrower than in tho 

 type, thickly beset with prickles on the margins. 1820. 



S. B.-n. rubens (reddish). I., tendrils purplish. Branches 

 sparsely prickly. (W. D. B. 108, under name of S. rubens.) 



S. China. China Root. /. greenish- white ; peduncles much 

 shorter than the leaves, longer than the petioles. August. 

 I. deciduous, ovate-rounded, the young ones abruptly narrowed 

 and acute at the base, at length sub-cordate, acute, cuspidate 

 or retuse at apex, entire, h. 20ft. China and Japan, 1759. The 

 edible root is very large, fleshy, and reddish. 



S. discolor (discoloured). I. about 9in. long and 4in. broad, 

 oblong-ovate, suddenly acuminate, firm, irregularly blotched 

 when young with purplish-brown, five-nerved. Mexico. 



S. glauca (glaucous), fl. greenish- white ; peduncles longer than 

 the petioles, flattened. July. I. tardily deciduous or partly 

 persistent, ovate, rarely sub-cordate, glaucous beneath, and some- 

 times also above (as well as the young branchlets), abruptly 

 mucronate, the edges smooth and naked. Branches terete, and, 

 as well as the somewhat quadrangular branchlets, armed with 

 scattered, stout prickles, or naked, h. 3ft. North America, 

 1815. (B. M. 1816 ; W. D. B. Ill, under name of S. Sarsaparilla.) 



S. glycyphylla (sweet-leaved). Botany Bay Tea and Tree 

 /., perianth nearly globular in bud; peduncles axillary and 

 simple, or a few of the upper ones in a terminal panicle. Summer. 

 1. lanceolate or ovate-lancsolate, IJin. to 3in. long or rarely 

 more, acute or acuminate, narrowed or rounded, or rarely almost 

 cordate at base, rigid, often glaucous or white beneath, some- 

 times green on both sides; petioles twisted, bearing slender 

 tendrils. Australia. Plant glabrous, unarmed. Greenhouse. 



S. herbacea (herbaceous). Carrion Flower, fl. carrion-scented ; 

 peduncles elongated, Sin. to 4in., or sometimes 6in. to 8in., long, 

 twenty to forty-flowered. June. I. much shorter than the 

 peduncles, long-petiolate, membranous, ovate-oblong or rounded, 

 mostly cordate, mucronate-tipped, smooth. Stem herbaceous, 



