714 ORDER 148. LILIACE^L 



than the pedicels. Gardens, rare. Fls. lilac, variegated with white and purple 

 lines, f Japan. 



16. POLYGONA N TUM, Tourn. TRUE SOLOMON'S SEAL. (Gr. 

 many, yovv, knee; from the many-jointed rhizome.) Perianth tubular, 

 limb short, 6-lobed, erect ; stamens 6, inserted near and above the 

 middle of the tube, included; ovary free, 3-ceIled, cells 2 to 6-ovuled ; 

 style slender, included; berry globular, 3 to 6-seeded. 2C Rhizome 

 horizontal, thick. St. erect or curving, leafy above. Fls, axillary r pen- 

 dent, greenish white. 



P. multiflonun Desf. St. recurved, smooth; Ivs. distichous, lanceolate, amplexi- 

 caul, smooth above; peduncles axillary, 1 to 4-flowered. U In woods, free States 

 and Can. Stem 1 to 3f high, most recurved in the tallest plants. Leaves more 

 or less clasping at base, or only sessile in the smallest plants. 2^ to G' by 1 to 2^', 

 veined, smooth and glossy above, paler and generally pubescent beneath. Pedun- 

 cles filiform, branching, scarcely a fifth as long as the leaves. Flowers 5 8" 

 long, pendulous, greenish, sub-cylindric. Berries dark blue or blackish when 

 ripe. Apr. Jn. 



a. Lvs. very amplexicaul, smooth both sides, distinctly veined * peduncles 



elongated, the lower 4-flowered ; fil. puberulent. In rich damp soils. This 



var. is common to Europe I and America ! (P. angustifolium Ph. P. biflo- 



rum Ell.) 



^. PUBSCENS. Lvs. pubescent beneath, glaucous, slightly clasping ; si 1 to 2f 



high ; fls. as short as the peduncles. Common in N. England. 

 y. GIGANTEUM. Tall, green and glabrous throughout; Ivs. partly clasping- 

 ped. 2 to 6-flowered. In rich alluvion. St. 3 to *7f high. (P. caniculatura 

 Ph.) 



<5. LATIFOLIUM. Pubescent above; Ivs. ovate-oblong, upper surface glabrous, 

 base sessile or somewhat petioled. Middle States. St. 2 to 4f high. (P. 

 latifolium MuhL P. hirtum. Ph.) 



17. CONVALLA^RIA, L. LILY OF THE VALLEY. (Lat. convallis, a 

 valley ; the locality of some species.) Perianth campanulate, of 6 united 

 segments, lobes of the limb recurved; stamens 6, included, perigynous; 

 ovary 3-celled, 1 -styled, cells' 4 to 6-ovuled ; berry few-seeded. 2 

 Rhizome creeping, slender. Lvs. radical, and scape very smooth, low, 

 bearing a secund raceme of white, drooping fls. 



C. majalis L. An elegant, sweet-scented plant, native of mountain woods, Ya. 

 to Ga., also of Europe, and is, or deserves to be, a frequent inhabitant of our gar- 

 dens. Lvs. 2, seldom 3, ovate-elliptical Scapo 6' high,, with the small, elegant 

 flowers depending from its upper half in a single rank. May. 



18. CLINTCTNIA, Raf. (In honor of Gov. De Witt Clinton, of N. Y.) 

 Perianth campanulate, of C equal, distinct segments ; stamens 6, hypo- 

 gynous, anthers linear-oblong; ovary oblong, 2 (rarely 3)-celled; style 

 elongated; berry (blue) 2-celled, cells 2 to 10-seeded. If Rhizome 

 creeping. Lvs. all radical, few (2 to 5), broad. Scape naked, bearing 

 an umbel. 



1 C. borealis Raf. NORTHERN CLINTONIA. Lvs. broad : oval-lanceolate ; fls. 2 to 

 5 in the bractkss umbel, cernuous ; berry-cells many-seeded. Mountainous or hilly 

 wood, Can., N. Eng. to Car., \V. to the Miss. Rhizome creeping to some extent. 

 Lvs. 4 to 7' long, J as wide, petiolate, radical or nearly so, smooth and glossy, 

 fringed with scattered hairs. Scape erect, round, 8 to 13' high, bearing at top a 

 beautiful umbel of 3 to 6, yellowish-green, nodding fls. Perianth liliaceous, of S 

 oblanceolate, erect-spreading segm. Berries of a rich amethystine blue. (Con- 

 vallaria Poir.) 



2 C. multiflora Beck. Lvs. oblong-lanceolate, pubescent beneath ; umbel many 

 (12 to 3Q)-fl<ffered, bracted ; fls. erect or spreading; berry cells 2-seeded. Woods, 



