428 



CONVALLARIACEAE. 



Leaves in i or 2 whorls below the flower or flowers. 

 Leaves in 2 whorls; flowers umbelled. 

 Leaves in i whorl ; flowers solitary. 



9. Jfedeola. 

 10. Trillium. 



i. ASPARAGUS L. Sp. PI. 313. 1753. 



Stem at first simple, fleshy, scaly, at length, much branched; the branchlets filiform and 

 mostly clustered in the axils of the scales in the following species, flattened and linear, 

 lanceolate or ovate in some others. Flowers small, solitary, umbelled or racemed. Peri- 

 anth-segments alike, separate or slightly united at the base. Stamens inserted at the bases 

 of the perianth-segments; filaments mostly filiform; anthers ovate or oblong, introrse. 

 Ovary sessile, 3-celled; ovules 2 in each cavity; style slender, short; stigmas 3, short, re- 

 curved. Berry globose. Seeds few, rounded. 

 [Ancient Greek name.] 



About loo species, natives of the Old World. 



i. Asparagus officinalis L,. Asparagus. 

 (Fig. 1028.) 



Asparagus officinalis L. Sp. PI. 313. 1753. 



Rootstock much branched. Young stems succu- 

 lent, edible, stout, later branching, and becoming 

 3-7 tall, the filiform branchlets $"-<)" long, less 

 than %" thick, mostly clustered in *he axils of 

 minute scales. Flowers mostly solitary at the 

 nodes, green, drooping on filiform jointed pedun- 

 cles; perianth campanulate, about 3" long, the 

 segments linear, obtuse; stamens shorter than the 

 perianth; berry red, about 4" in diameter. 



Escaped from cultivation and naturalized, especially 

 along salt marshes, New Brunswick to Virginia, and 

 locally in waste places in the interior. Native of 

 Europe. M^-June, or flowering also in the autumn. 



2. CLINTONIA Raf. Journ. Pys. 89: 102. 1819. 



Somewhat pubescent scapose herbs, with slender rootstocks, erect simple scapes, and few 

 broad petioled sheathing basal leaves, the bractless flowers umbelled at the summit of the 

 scape in our species. Perianth-segments distinct, equal or nearly so, erect-spreading. Sta- 

 mens 6, inserted at the bases of the perianth-segments; filaments filiform; anthers oblong, 

 laterally dehiscent. Ovary 2-3-celled; ovules 2-several in each cavity; style stout or slender; 

 stigma obscurely 2-3-lobed. Berry globose or oval. [Name in honor of De Witt Clinton, 

 1769-1828, American naturalist, Governor of the State of New York.] 



Six species, the following of eastern North America, 2 of western North America, 2 Asiatic. 

 Flowers greenish-yellow, drooping, 8"-io" long; berry blue. i. C. borealis. 



Flowers white, not drooping, 4"-s" long; berry black. 2. C. umbellulata. 



i. Clintonia borealis (Ait.) Raf. Yellow Clintonia. (Fig. 1029.) 



Dracaena borealis Ait. Hort. Kew. i: 454. 1789. 

 Clintonia borealis Raf. Atl. Journ. 120. 1832. 



Scape 6'-i5' high, pubescent above or nearly 

 glabrous. Leaves 2-5, usually 3, oval, oblong or 

 obovate, thin, shorter than the scape, i 'j'-3'j' 

 wide, ciliate, short-acuminate or cuspidate; um- 

 bel 3-6-flowered; flowers drooping, greenish 

 yellow, 8 // -io // long; pedicels 3 // -i5 // long, slen- 

 der, pubescent, erect or ascending in fruit; peri- 

 anth-segments obtuse or acutish; stamens about 

 as long as the perianth; ovary 2-celled; ovules 

 numerous, in 2 rows in each cavity, style slen- 

 der, somewhat thickened above, about equalling 

 the stamens; berry oval, blue, several-seeded, 

 about 4" in diameter. 



In moist woods and thickets, Newfoundland Jto 

 Ontario and Minnesota, south to North Carolina and 

 Wisconsin. Ascends to 4500 ft. in Virginia. A 

 flower is occasionally borne on the scape below the 

 umbel, and rarely a small leaf. May-June. 



