SMI LAX. 



THE ENGLISH FLOWER GARDEN. 



SMILAX. 



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and hardy. They may be cultivated with 

 ease in the mixed flower border, where in 

 May and June they are very attractive. 

 D. D. 



SMILAX^raw Briar}. Distinct and 

 handsome climbing shrubs, nearly all 

 evergreen. They are most suitable for 

 walls, but several may be grown over 

 large tree roots or may be trained over 

 tree trunks, requiring in this case the 

 most sheltered position that can be found. 

 In some cases it is not the low winter 

 temperature that kills, but rather the in- 

 sufficiency of summer warmth that pre- 

 vents development. All the kinds respond 

 to good dry soil, and if the soil is not 

 good it should be made so. If suitable 

 cuttings can be got they will usually strike, 

 but there is sometimes difficulty in root- 

 ing them. The plants may sometimes 

 be divided, or pieces may be taken off, 

 which readily make plants, and this is 

 usually the surest method of propagation 

 for hardy kinds. The following are the 

 more hardy kinds of Smilax cultivated in 

 this country : 



S. ASPERA. A well-marked species, with 

 angular and usually prickly stems, reaching a 

 height of about 5 ft., or even 10 ft. In colour 

 the leaves are dark 

 green, with flecks of 

 white on the upper 

 surface, and the flowers 

 whitish and fragrant. 

 It is a native of South 

 Europe and the Can- 

 aries, and has many 

 varieties. 



S. A. VAR. BUCHAN- 

 AN i AN A. With this 

 variety I am acquainted 

 only by a specimen at 

 Kew. It has a long 

 leaf, with numerous 



marginal setae. I do not find the name in 

 books, but the plant is distinct and is probably 

 a native of India. 



S. A. VAR. MACULATA. This is marked by 

 a dense growth of slender stems, reaching a 

 height of about 3 ft. and bearing leaves of 

 small size, so dark as to be almost coppery in 

 colour. 



S. A. VAR. MAURITANICA has angular stems 

 which reach a considerable height. The stems 

 and branches have few prickles, and they are 

 rare on the leaves. It is a handsome plant, 

 native of the Mediterranean and the Canaries. 

 S. BONA-NOX (Bristly Green Briar}. The 

 root-stocks have large tubers ; the stems are 

 slightly angled, the branches often four-angled, 

 the leaves green and shining on both sides, and 

 their margins are fringed with needle-like 

 prickles. N. America. 



S. CANTAB. For many years this has been 

 cultivated in the Cambridge Botanic Garden. 

 It is evergreen, the strong shoots reaching a 



Smilax aspera. 



height of about 12 ft. or more, the stems 

 round, armed with strong, straight green 

 prickles ; the branches slender, and usually 

 without prickles. The male flowers are fra- 

 grant, in umbels of about eight to twelve. 

 This plant is, perhaps, nearest to S. rotundi- 

 folia among the hardier kinds, but the leaves 

 differ distinctly in shape. 



S. GLAUCA. The height of this plant is 

 about 3 ft. It has stems, branches and twigs 

 angled, armed with rather stout numerous or 



A Smilax in fruit. 



scattered prickles, or may sometimes be with- 

 out any. The leaves are partially persistent, 

 glaucous beneath and sometimes above. N. 

 America. 



S. HERBACEA. I am not sure that this is 

 worth cultivation outside of a botanic garden, 

 but it is easily grown as an ordinary herbaceous 

 plant and is sure to be interesting. The tubers 

 are numerous, short and thick, the stems 

 unarmed, usually branched, and bearing ovate 

 leaves with numerous tendrils. Its herbaceous 

 habit distinguishes it from all others in cultiva- 

 tion. N. America and Japan. 



S. HISPIDA. This is quite a distinct plant 

 on account of the stems, which are usually 

 thickly hispid with slender straight prickles. 

 The leaves are thin and green on both surfaces, 

 the margins usually toothed. N. America. 



S. LAURIFOLIA. A high climbing species, 

 the stems round, armed with strong straight 

 prickles, the branches angled, mostly unarmed. 

 It is evergreen, and the plant is easily recog- 

 nised by its leathery, bright green, three- 

 nerved leaves, elliptic in shape. A fine speci- 

 men of this I have seen in Canon Ellacombe's 

 garden at Bitton. N. America. 



S. PSEUDO-CHINA. The lower part of the 

 stem is armed with straight, needle-like 

 prickles, the upper part and the branches 

 mostly unarmed. The leaves become leathery 

 when old. They are ovate, often narrowed 

 about the middle or lobed at the base, seven 

 or nine-nerved and green on both sides, some- 

 times toothed on the margin. N. America and 

 the West Indies. 



S. ROTUNDIFOLIA (Green Briar]. A high 

 climbing species with large, thin and nearly 



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