SM I 



OR, BOTANICAL DICTIONARY. 



S M I 



587 



7. Smilax Ovata. Leaves unarmed, ovate-acute, cuspi- 

 date, trinerved ; common peduncle shorter than the petiole ; 

 berries black. Grows near Savannah in Georgia. The leaves 

 of this plant are very shining on both sides. 



8. Smilax Alba. Stem obsolete-angular ; leaves elongate- 

 lanceolate, coriaceous, glabrous, very entire, trinerved; umbels 

 with few flowers, having very short peduncles; berries white. 

 In sandy grounds on the edge of rivulets in Carolina. 



** Stem prickly, round. 



9. Smilax China ; Chinese Smilax. Stem prickly, round- 

 ish; leaves unarmed, ovate-cordate, five-nerved. The root is 

 as large as a child's hand, twisted, full of knots, reddish on the 

 outside, flesh-coloured in the heart, and destitute of smell. 

 It was brought into Europe in the 16th century, as a cure for 

 the venereal disease, and for chronic, cutaneous, and rheu- 

 matic disorders : it is farinaceous, and nearly insipid to the 

 taste. It is successfully employed as a medicine in the Chi- 

 nese province of Ho-Nansi, where it abounds; and is also 

 used instead of Rice. Browne says, this plant is common in 

 the cool inland parts of Jamaica, where it rises from a thick 

 porous root, and climbs by a pretty slender rigid stem to the 

 top of the tallest trees. He observes, that the root is com- 

 monly used in Jamaica, where it is found to answer as well 

 as that from the East Indies ; he also thinks that it might be 

 easily propagated so as to supply the European markets ; but 

 what grows wild is more than sufficient to supply the inha- 

 bitants, and serves frequently to feed the hogs when there is 

 a scarcity of wild fruit. 



10. Smilax Rotundifolia; Round-leaved Smilax. Stem 

 prickly, round; leaves unarmed, cordate, acuminate, five or 

 seven nerved. Native of Canada. 



11. Smilax Laurifolia ; Bay-leaved Smilax. Stem prickly, 

 round; leaves unarmed, ovate-lanceolate, three-nerved. 

 Native of Virginia and Carolina. 



12. Smilax Tamnoides ; Black Briony-leaved Smilax. 

 Stem prickly, round; leaves unarmed, cordate, oblong, seven- 

 nerved. Native of North America. 



13. Smilax Caduca; Deciduous Smilax. Stem prickly, 

 round ; leaves unarmed, ovate, three-nerved ; umbels of flow- 

 ers below the leaves. Native of Canada. 



14. Smilax Pubera. Plant unarmed: leaves oblong, acute, 

 cordate, sub-five-nerved ; umbels short, peduncled; pedicels 

 very short; berries oblong, acute, white. Found in the shady 

 woods of Carolina and Georgia. 



15. Smilax Panduratus. Plant aculeate; leaves panduraa- 

 form, acuminate, trinerved ; common peduncle as long again 

 as the petiole. Leaves smooth and shining on both sides. 

 Found in sandy woods from New Jersey to Carolina. 



** Stem unarmed, angular. 



16. Smilax Australis. Stem round, very prickly; leaves 

 ovate-oblong, acute, five-ribbed, smooth; tendrils in pairs on 

 the footstalks. Found near Port Jackson, New South Wales. 



17. Smilax Bona Nox ; Ciliated Smilax. Stem unarmed, 

 angular; leaves ciliate, prickly. It flowers in June and July. 

 Native of North America. 



18. Smilax Herbacea; Herbaceous Smilax. Stem unarmed, 

 angular; leaves unarmed, ovate, seven-nerved. It flowers in 

 July. Native of North America. 



19. Smilax Tetragona; Square-stalked Smilax. Stem un- 

 armed, four-cornered; leaves cordate, five-nerved, acuminate, 

 unarmed. Native place unknown. 



20. Smilax Peduncularrs. Stem round, climbing; leaves 

 subrotund-ovate, cordate, acuminate, nine-nerved; umbels 

 with very long peduncles. Found in old fields on the edges 



if woods from Canada to Pennsylvania. 

 OT.. ii. 115. 





21. Smilax Latifolia. Stem angular, without prickles; 

 leaves ovate, five-ribbed, smooth, somewhat heart-shaped; 

 footstalks bearing the tendrils. Found in the tropical parts 

 of New Holland. 



**** Stem unarmed, round. 



22. Smilax Lanceolata; Spear-leaved Smilax. Stem un- 

 armed, round ; leaves unarmed, lanceolate ; root fusiform, 

 long, not tuberous. Native of North America, in Virginia 

 and Carolina. Found also in Cochin-china. 



23. Smilax Pseudo-China; Bastard Chinese Smilax. Stem 

 unarmed, round; leaves unarmed; stem-leaves cordate; 

 branch-leaves ovate-oblong, five-nerved. The Cochin-chi- 

 nese use the stem for making baskets and other wicker ware. 

 The Chinese call it Cum Kong Cum, and frequently use it 

 instead of the true China root. A small quantity of it, even in 

 cold water, tinges of a deep red ; whereas the true root yields 

 a light brown colour. Found also in Virginia and Jamaica; 

 where it is a shrub, with very large roots, much searched after 

 by hogs. 



24. Smilax Ripogonum. Stem unarmed, round, rooting; 

 leaves ovate, lanceolate, acuminate, five-nerved ; flowers her- 

 maphrodite. Native of New Zealand. 



25. Smilax Purpurata. Stem unarmed, round, dichoto- 

 mouB ; leaves cordate, acute, acuminate, clawed, quite entire, 

 five-nerved ; peduncles axillary, umbelliferous. Native of 

 New Caledonia. The roots have the taste of Glycyrrhiza. 



26. Smilax Aristolochieefolia. Stem prickly, round ; leaves 

 unarmed, sagittate, bluntish, three-nerved. Found at Vera 

 Cruz in New Spain. 



27. Smilax Spinosa. Stem prickly, round ; leaves ovate- 

 lanceolate ; nerves of the leaves prickly underneath. Found 

 also at La Vera Cruz in New Spain. 



28. Smilax Canellsefolia. Stem unarmed, round ; leaves 

 unarmed, ovate, three-nerved. Native of Jamaica, where it 

 climbs upon the trees. 



29. Smilax Humilis. Stem unarmed, round ; leaves un- 

 armed, ovate, cordate, three-nerved ; flowers corymbed ; 

 berries red. Native of Carolina. 



30. Smilax Hedersefolia. Stem unarmed, round; leaves 

 unarmed; stem-leaves cordate; racemes ovate, oblong. 

 Native of Jamaica and Maryland. 



Smithia; (so named in honour of James Edward Smith, 

 M. D. F. R. S. &c. President of the Linnean Society, &c.) a 

 genus of the class Diadelphia, order Decandria. GENERIC 

 CHARACTER. Calix : perianth one-leafed, two-lipped ; seg- 

 ments ovate-lanceolate, concave, acute, almost equal. Co- 

 rolla : papilionaceous ; standard obcordate ; wings oblong, 

 obtuse, a little shorter than the standard ; keel linear-oblong, 

 cloven at the base, length of the wings. Stamina: filamenta 

 ten, united into two equal bodies ; antherae oblong. Pistil: 

 germen contracted at the base of the calix ; style capillary, 

 permanent; stigma simple. Pericarp: legume enclosed within 

 the calix, composed of from four to seven joints, distinct, con- 

 nected by the permanent style, orbicular, muricated, one- 

 seeded. Seeds: kidney-form, compressed, smooth. ESSEN- 

 TIAL CHARACTER. Legume: with distinct one-seeded joints, 

 connected by the style. Stamina; divided into two bodies. 

 The only known species is, 



1. Smithia Sensitiva; Annual Smithia. Leaves alternate, 

 abruptly pinnate, composed of from four to ten obovate- 

 oblong leaflets, bristly on the edge, and along the rib beneath; 

 root annual; stem decumbent, round, even; racemes axillary, 

 from three to six flowered ; corolla yellow. The leaves fold 

 together when touched, like those of Mimosa Pudica, but 

 more slowly. It flowers in October, and is a native of th 

 East Indies. 

 7K 



