THE SMILAX FAMILY. 63 



growi?ig in axillary lunbcls. Segments of the per ia fit h : six. Fruit : a 

 rounded berry. 



HISPID GREENBRIER. 



Snultxx liispida. 



FAMILY COLOUR ODOUR RANGE TIME OF BLOOM 



Siuiliix. C>Lt)iuli. ScciitU\ss. Texas^and I'ir^inia to _ May-Jiu'y. 



Ontario and xvestward. Fruit: Aut^mt. 



t'limers : regular; growing on peduncles in axillary umbels; the pistillate ones, 

 very small. Perianth : with six lanceolate, pointed segments. Statnens : six, the 

 filaments little longer than the anthers. Berries: bluish black; round. Leaves : 

 ovate, abruptlv pointed at the apex and cordate or blunt at the base ; usually seven- 

 nerved, entire'; bright green on both sides ; slightly ciliate. Stem : stout, and cov- 

 ered thickly with straight sharp prickles. Twigs : angled ; glabrous. 



This vine commonly found in thickets, and climbing as it does by means 

 of tendril-like appendages borne at the bases of its petioles, is one of the 

 notable features of the early autumn. Often it forms veritable tangles made 

 almost impassable by the propensities of its sharp spines. Then its blue- 

 black berries are ripening and the leaves show almost every shade of yellow 

 and brown. In such close bunches does the fruit grow that once when I 

 found it intermingled with that of a wild grape vine, it was with some diffi- 

 culty I separated the two and in doing so was mostly guided by the differ- 

 ence between the clusters and the fine fragrance of the grapes. But then 

 naturally the leaves of both vines had nearly ceased falling. 



LAUREL=LEAVED GREENBRIER. 



Sniilax laitrifblia. 



FAMILY COLOUR ODOUR RANGE TIME OF BLOOM 



Stnilax. Greenish white. Scentless. Texas and Florida March-August. 



to New Jersey. Fruit: Septonl^er. 



Flowers : very small ; growing abuadantly in umbels on axillary, squared pedun- 

 cles. Berries : ovoid or globose, ripening in their second year when they become 

 black. Leaves: with short, stout petioles; oblong ; ovate or oblanceolate, pointed 

 or blunt at the apex, occasionally projecting the midrib and narrowed or rounded 

 at the base; entire; with strong marginal veins; coriaceous; evergreen. Stem: 

 stout ; climbing ; woody; the lower part armed with prickles somewhat over one- 

 quarter of an inch long. 



Through the lower districts especially in wet places, this vine is seen 

 climbing by means of its tendrils to the tops of very high trees. Its large 

 spines and laurel-like, evergreen foliage should be remembered as marks of 

 the species. As is true of nearly all the genus its flowers are individually 

 very insignificant, although when as many as thirty of them grow in one 

 cluster, which is not unusual, they make quite a fair showing. 



.S*. rotundifblia, green brier, cat brier, or common bamboo, grows often in 

 thickets, or where the soil is moist, and is prone to climb as high as thirty or 

 forty feet. Its branchlets are slightly angled and armed with stout spines, 



