liliace^e. (lily family.) 531 



18. POLYGONATUM. Tourn. Solomon's Seal. 



Perianth cylindrical, 6-lobed at the summit; the 6 stamens inserted on or 



above the middle of the tube, included : anthers introrse. Ovary 3-ccllcd, with 

 2-6 ovules in each cell : style slender, deciduous by a joint: stigma obtuse or 

 capitate, obscurely 3-lobed. Berry globular, black or blue ; the cells 1 -2-seeded. 

 — Perennial herbs, with simple erect or curving stems, rising from creeping 

 thick and knotted rootstocks, naked below, above bearing nearly sessile or half- 

 clasping nerved leaves, and axillary nodding greenish flowers : pedicels jointed 

 with the flower. (The ancient name, composed of tto\vs, many, and yovv, knee, 

 alluding to the numerous joints of the rootstocks and stems.) — Ours are all al- 

 ternate-leaved species, and with the stem terete or scarcely angled when fresh. 



1. P. bifldrum, Ell. (Smaller Solomon's Seal.) Glabrous, except 

 the ovate-oblong or lance-oblong nearly sessile leaves, which are commonly 

 minutely pubescent, at least on the veins (but sometimes smooth), as well as pale 

 or glaucous underneath; stem slender (l°-3° high); peduncles 1 - 3- but mostly 

 2-fiowered ; filaments papillose-roughened, inserted towards the summit of the 

 cylindrical-oblong perianth. (Convallaria biflora, Walt. C. pubescens, WiUd. 

 Polygonatum pubescens, angustifolium, & multiflorum, Pursh.) — Wooded 

 banks: common. — Perianth £' long, greenish. 



2. P. gig&nteum, Dietrich. (Great S.) Glabrous throughout; stem 

 stout and mostly tall, terete; leaves ovate, partly clasping (5' -8' long), or the 

 upper oblong and nearly sessile, many-nerved ; peduncles several- (2 - 8-) flowered; 

 filaments smooth and naked, or nearly so, inserted on the middle of the tube of the 

 cylindrical-oblong perianth. (Convallaria canaliculata, Willd. Polygonatum 

 canalieulatum, Pursh. P. commutatum, Dietrich.) — River-banks, in alluvial 

 soil, 5° - 8° high ; in dry or less fertile soil 2° - 4°. June. ( The stem not being 

 at all channelled in the living plant, it is better to discard the earlier name of 

 canalieulatum.) — Pedicels 4"- 15" long: perianth 9" long. — Perhaps passes 

 into the preceding. 



3. P. latifdlium, Desf. Upper part of the stem (2° -3° high), the 1 - 5- 

 flowered peduncles, pedicels, and lower surface of the ovate or oblong mostly peti- 

 oled leaves more or less pubescent ; filaments glabrous. (P. hirtum, Pursh. Conval- 

 laria hirta, Poir.) — Pennsylvania, Muhlenberg ! 



(P. multiflorum, with hirsute filaments, I have never seen in this country.) 



19. ASPARAGUS, L. Asparagus. 



Perianth 6-parted, spreading above : the 6 stamens on its base : anthers 

 introrse. Style short: stigma 3-lobed. Berry spherical, 3-celled; the cells 

 2-seeded. — Perennials, with much-branched stems from thick and matted 

 rootstocks, and small greenish-yellow axillary flowers on jointed pedicels. 

 The narrow, commonly thread-like, so-called leaves are really branchlets, act- 

 ing as leaves, clustered in the axil of a little scale which is the true leaf. (The 

 ancient Greek name.) 



1. A. officinalis, L. (Garden Asparagus.) Herbaceous, tall, bushy- 

 branched ; leaves thread-like. — Sparingly escaped from gardens into waste 

 places on the coast. June. (Adv. from Eu.) 



