404 LILIACE^. [POLYGOXAtUM. 



Wooded banks and glens, very rare,Northumbd., Perth and Forfar ; fl. June- 

 July. Stem 2-3 ft. Leaves 3-5 in., sessile, 3-6 in a whorl (rarely 1 or 2), 

 flaccid, margins and veins beneath ciliolate. Peduncles ^-f in., 1-3-fid. 

 Perianth J in., greenish. Berry J in. diam. DISTRIB. Europe (Arctic) 

 (excl. Greece), Siberia, Himalaya. 



2. P. multiflo'rum, All. ; stem terete, leaves alternate subbifarious or 

 secund oblong ^-amplexicaul, perianth constricted in the middle, filaments 

 pubescent. Solomon's Seal. 



Woods, rare, from Northumbd. to Kent and Devon (excl. Wales) ; naturalized 

 in Scotland and Ireland ; fl. May-June. Stem 2-3 ft., naked below, arched. 

 Leaves 3-5 in., very shortly petioled, acute or obtuse. Peduncles 2-5-fld. 

 Perianth in., greenish white. Berry J in. diam., blue-black. DISTRIB. 

 Europe, Siberia, Dahuria. 



3. P. officina'le, All. ; stem angled, leaves alternate oblong subbifarious 

 l-amplexicaul, perianth cylindric, filaments glabrous. 



Wooded limestone cliffs, rare, from the Border to Somerset and Dorset; fl. 

 May-June. Smaller than P. multifo'rum, with more leathery leaves and 

 usually solitary larger flowers, perianth cylindric with broader lobes. Stem 

 6-12 in., arched. Leaves 3-4 in., subacute. Peduncles rarely 3-fld. Perianth 

 1 in., greenish- white. Berry f in. diam., blue-black. DISTRIB. Europe, 

 N. Asia. 



4. MAIANTHEMUM, Wigg. 



Rootstock slender, creeping. Stem erect, leafy. Leaves alternate. 

 Flowers white, terminal, racemed. Perianth of 4 free segments in 1 series, 

 or 6 in 2 series, deciduous. Stamens 4 or 6, on the bases of the segments, 

 Ovary 2-3-celled ; style short, simple, stigma obscurely 2-3-lobed ; cells 

 l-2-o vuled. Berry and seeds as in Convallaria. DISTRIB. Europe 

 (Arctic) (excl. Turkey), JS". Asia, N. America. ETYM. /zcuos and &vOe/j.ov, 

 May-flowerer. 



M. Convallaria, Roth ; M. bifolium, DC. ; Smilacma bifolia, Desf. 

 Woods, very rare, wild in Yorkshire, and probably in Lancashire and Bedford ; 

 fl. May-June. Glabrous or pubescent. Stem 4-8 in., flexuous. Radical 

 leaves 1|-2| in., cordate, acute, base deeply 2-lobed, many-nerved, long- 

 petioled ; cauline 2-3, short petioled or upper sessile. Raceme 1-2 in., 

 8-10-fld. ; pedicels slender, solitary or 2-3 ; bracts minute. Flowers % in. 

 diam., 4-merous, suberect, fragrant. Berry % in. diam., apiculate, white, 

 dotted. 



5. CONVALLA'RIA, L. LlLY OF THE VALLEY. 



Rootstock creeping. Stem 0. Leaves 2-3, sheathed at the base. Scape 

 slender ; flowers racemose, homogamous. Perianth shortly campanulate, 

 mouth 6 -cleft, lobes recurved. Stamens on the base of the perianth, 

 included ; anthers subsagittate. Ovary ovoid, terete ; style simple, 

 stigma 3-gonous ; cells 4-8-ovuled. Berry globose. Seeds 2-3, subglobose, 

 testa thin white adherent, albumen horny ; embryo dorsal, radicle far 



