1672 



SKIRRET 



SMILAX 



Skirret belongs to a moisture-loving genus, and needs 

 a rich soil. The seeds may be sown in autumn or 

 spring and the plants yield well the first season. For 

 European practice Vilmorin recommends that the seed- 

 lings be grown in a seed-bed until they have made 

 4 or 5 leaves and then transplanted into permanent 

 quarters. Sow the seed in drills half an inch deep, and 

 thin out the seedlings to 8 inches in the row. The roots 

 may be left outdoors in the ground all winter, but others 

 advise storing them in sand or earth. ^y^ m. 



SKULL CAP. Scutellaria. 



SKUNK CABBAGE. Spathyema fatida. 



SLIPPER FLOWER or SLIPPERWOET. Calceo- 

 laria. 



SLIPPER, LADY'S. Cypripedmm. 



SLIPPERS, BABIES'. Lotus corniculatus. 



SLOE. Prumis spinosa. 



SMELOWSKIA (Prof.T. Smelowskia, botanist of St. 

 Petersburg, died 1815). Cruciferce. About 4 species of 

 alpine plants with small white or yellow, 4-petaled 

 flowers : sepals short, lax, equal at base : pod somewhat 

 shortish, narrowed at both ends: seeds few, arranged 

 in 1 series: Ivs. 1-2-pinnatisect: fls. racemose: bracts 

 none. 



calycina, C. A. Meyer. Low, tufted perennial, very 

 variable in foliage: Ivs. soft, usually deeply pinnatifid, 

 with 2 or several pairs of linear to obovate, obtuse seg- 

 ments and a terminal one: rarely a few Ivs. entire: 

 racemes at first dense and subcorymbose, but elongat- 

 ing in fruit: fls. white or nearly so; petals about 2 lines 

 long. Arctic regions. Recommended by some per- 

 sons for rock gardens, but it does not seem to be 

 advertised in America. ^_ ]yj_ 



SMILACINA (resembling smilax). Lilicicece. False 

 Solomon's Seal. About 25 species of hardy perennial 

 herbs of the temperate regions of North America and 

 Asia, with rhizomes (Fig. 2330) and simple leafy stems 

 bearing terminal panicles of small usually white or 



2330. Rootstock of Smilacina racemosa (X K). 



The figures designate the position of the stalks in the different ; 

 Between each of the figures or scars is a year's growth. 



greenish white flowers: perianth of 6 equal spreading 

 segments; stamens G, inserted at bases of the perianth- 

 segments: berry globular or nearly so, 3-celled. 



Smilacinas are of easy culture in any good soil. Tlioy 

 prefer a rich loam in a moist but not wet, partly shadeJl 

 place. They are handsome plants both in foliage and 

 flower. S. racemosa is probal)ly the most attractive. 

 The plants may be forced slowly for bloom in the late 

 winter and early spring. 



A. Fruit red. 

 B. Plant with 2-4 leaves. 

 txifoliata, Desf. Rootstock slender : stem 2-15 in. 

 high: Ivs. sessile, oval to oblong-lanceolate, 2-5 in. 

 long: fls. in a simple raceme, few to several: berry 

 M in. through. Bogs and moist soil in the northern U. 

 S. and Asia. B.B. 1:430. 



BB. Plant with many Ivs. 

 racemdsa, Desf. Figs. 2330, 2331. Rootstock rather 

 stout; stem 1-3 ft. high: Ivs. 3-6 in. long, oblong-lan- 

 ceolate or oval, sessile or nearly so: fls. numerous, in 

 a panicle: berry 34^ in. through. In shaded or partly 

 shaded places throughout the greater part of the U. S. 

 B.B. 1:429. A.G. 13:519. 



AA. Fruit black, or green and black. 



B. Pedicels 2-7 lines long. 



sessilifdlia, Nutt. Rootstock slender: stem 1-2 ft. 



high, slender: Ivs. 2-6 in. long, lanceolate, acute, flat 



and spreading: raceme open, sessile or short-peduncled: 



berry 3-5 lines through. Early summer. Pacific states. 



BB. Pedicels 1-2 lines long. 

 Stell^ta, Desf. Very near to S. sessilifolia: Ivs. usu- 

 ally folded and ascending : raceme shorter and more 

 crowded. May, June. Moist soil, throughout the greater 

 part of the U. S. B.B. 1:430. y. W. Barclay. 



SMILAX (ancient Greek name). Lilidcece. A genus 

 of about 180 species very widely distributed over the 

 world, usually woody climbers, which ascend by means 

 of the coiling appendages of the petiole; sometimes 

 shrubs or rarely herbaceous perennials, with slender 

 twigs : rootstocks usually large and often tuberous: 

 lower Ivs. reduced to scales; the upper simple, 3 or 

 rarely several-nerved, often evergreen: fls. usually nu- 

 merous, rather small, dioecious, in axillary, sessile or 

 peduncled umbels : pedicels nearly equal in length : 

 berries usually globose, 1-4-seeded. 



There are 17 species native of the U. S., nearly all of 

 which are useful wild garden plants, having glossy at- 

 tractive foliage. The last three noted below have been 

 offered by collectors. For Smilax of florists, see As- 

 paragus medeoloides. 



A. livs. usually variegated. Exotic species. 

 B. Plant climbing. 

 argyr^a, Lind. & Rod. Tender foliage plant: stem 

 wiry, slender, armed with short, stout thorns: Ivs. lan- 

 ceolate, becoming 8-10 in. long, dark green, 

 blotched with gray, 3-nerved, short -petioled. 

 Bolivia. I.H. 39: 152. -According to G.F. 8:305 

 the above species is a robust healthy plant 

 doing well in a moderate temperature and 

 quickly forming ornamental specimens. It 

 should be given a rich, fibrous soil and a light 

 and sunny position. It may be propagated by 

 half-ripe cuttings of the side shoots with 2-3 

 eyes inserted in a moderately warm bed. 



BB. Plant partially climbing. 



dspera, Linn. A half-hardy shrub often 

 somewhat scandent, imarmed or with spines: 

 Ivs. ovate-deltoid or lanceolate, 1/^-6 in. long, 

 usually blotched with white, 5-9-nerved: fls. 

 white, sweet-scented, inmany-fld. umbels: ber- 

 ries % in. thick, usually 3-seeded and, accord- 

 ing to J. D. Hooker, bluish, while Franceschi 

 mentions them in his catalogue as shining red. 

 ,ars. S- Eu. to India. Gn. 28, p. 615. 



AA. Lvs. green. Native species. 



B. Ste7n herbaceous. 



herbtlcea, Linn. A hardy perennial with a somewhat 

 procumbent or climbing branched annual stem 4-6 ft. 

 high, unarmed: lvs. ovate to lanceolate acute to cuspi- 

 date, obtuse or cordate at the base, long-petioled, 7-9- 

 nerved : umbels 15-80-fld., loTig-]M'du!K'led: fls. carrion- 

 scented when open: berry bluish black, ^i in. thick. 

 Apr. -.Tune. In woods or fields throughout the greater 

 part of tlie U. S. B.B. 1:439. 



