LILIACEAE. 103 



leaves ovate, long-acuminate, cordate at base; perianth narrow, the segments 

 spreading; style entire; fruit ovoid, pubescent, orange-red. 



Moist banks and rich woods, British Columbia to Idaho and Oregon. 



Disporum majus (Hook.) Britt. Stems branched, 30-50 cm. tall, the 

 branches pubescent; leaves oblong or oblong-ovate, long-acuminate, sessile 

 and half-clasping, 5-7 cm. long, glabrous; flowers solitary or in pairs, yellowish- 

 white, on more or less curved pedicels, 5-8 mm. long; perianth campanulate, 

 the segments narrow, oblong or oblanceolate, 10-12 mm. long; berry pyriform- 

 globose, 6-8 mm. in diameter, roughened with minute shallow pits. 



Silverton, Washington, Mrs. L. A. Bouck. Not elsewhere found west of 

 the Cascade Mountains, but common in the interior from British Columbia 

 and Alberta to Arizona. 



126. VERATRUM. FALSE HELLEBORE. 



Tall perennial herbs, from short thick poisonous rootstocks; 

 stem pubescent; leaves mostly broad, clasping, strongly veined 

 and plaited; inflorescence pubescent, of terminal panicles; 

 flowers greenish or yellowish-white, rather large, polygamous, on 

 short stout pedicels; perianth-segments 6, glandless or nearly so, 

 adnate to the base of the ovary; stamens opposite the perianth- 

 segments and free from them, short, mostly curved; ovary ovoid, 

 3-celled, the cavities several-ovuled. 



Flowers green, in a drooping panicle. V. viride. 



Flowers white, in an erect panicle. V. caudatum. 



Veratrum viride Ait. Green Hellebore. Stems stout, 100-150 cm. tall; ty 

 leaves ovate, or the upper lanceolate, pubescent beneath, 20-30 cm. long; , .. /fr- 

 panicle open, 30-60 cm. long, the lower branches more or less drooping, usually 

 simple; perianth green, pubescent outside, the segments obovate, obtuse, 

 about 8 mm. long; principal bracts foliaceous, like the upper leaves. 



In subalpine swamps, throughout our limits. 



Veratrum caudatum Heller. White Hellebore. In habit like V. viride; 

 panicle erect, the branches spreading, seldom nodding; principal bracts small, 

 not foliaceous; perianth segments 15-20 mm. long. 



In wet meadows, Montesano, Heller; near Seattle, Piper. Perhaps only 

 a form of V. californicum Durand. 



127. VAGNERA. FALSE SOLOMON'S SEAL. 



Herbs with slender or short and thick rootstocks; stem simple, 

 scaly below, leafy above; leaves alternate, short-petioled or 

 sessile, ovate, lanceolate or oblong; inflorescence a terminal 

 raceme or panicle; flowers white or greenish, small; perianth of 

 6 separate spreading equal segments; stamens 6, on the bases of 

 the perianth-segments; ovary 3-celled, sessile, subglobose; ovules 

 2 in each cavity. 



Flowers small, many in a panicle. V. amplexicaulis. 



Flowers larger, few in a simple raceme. V. sessilifolia. 



Vagnera amplexicaulis (Nutt.) Greene. Rootstocks stout; stems 50-100 

 cm. tall, usually puberulent; leaves oblong or ovate, acuminate, puberulent, 

 6-12 cm. long, sessile, clasping the stem somewhat; panicle pyramidal or 



