310 



LiLIACEAE 



B. Subshrubs with perennial sometimes prickly stems. 

 3A. Flowers relatively few in an umbel; tendrils very short or nearly absent; prickles sparse or absent. 



4A. Fruit black; leaves thinly chartaceous or submembranous, deltoid-ovate S. S. vaginata var. stans 



4B. Fruit red; leaves oblong to elliptic, rarely ovate-elliptic, chartaceous to coriaceous 4. S. biflora 



3B. Flowers many in an umbel; tendrils elongate. 



5A. Fruit red; anthers elliptic, about 0.8 mm. long 5. 5. china 



5B. Fruit black; anthers 1—1.5 mm. long. 



6A. Leaves coriaceous; umbel solitary, not branched. 



7A. Prickles nearly absent; leaves elliptic or sometimes oblong, coriaceous 6. 5. sebeana 



7B. Prickles prominent; leaves broadly ovate, ovate-cordate, or deltoid-ovate, chartaceous 7. 5. sieboldii 



6B. Leaves hard coriaceous; umbels in axillary cymes 8. 5. bracteata 



1. Smilax nipponica Miq. S. herbacea var. nipponica 

 (Miq.) Maxim.; S. oldhamii sensu auct. Japon., non Miq.; S. 



higoensis Miq. Tachi-shiode. Herbaceous perennial, 1-2 



m. high, erect while young, becoming somewhat scandent; 

 leaves relatively tliin and membranous, ovate-oblong to nearly 

 ovate, 5-15 cm. long, 2.5-7 cm. wide, 5- to 7-nerved, abruptly 

 acute to acuminate, rounded to subtruncate at base, vivid 

 green above, glaucescent and usually with papillae beneath, 

 the petioles l-A cm. long, the upper ones with subtending ten- 

 drils; inflorescence simple, many-flowered, the peduncles in 

 lower stem axils, 4-10 cm. long, the staminate tepals spreading, 

 broadly oblanceolate, about 4 mm. long; stamens 1/2-2/3 as 

 long as the tepals, the anthers about 0.7 mm. long; pistillate 

 tepals nearly boat-shaped, appressed to the ovary; fruit globose, 



black, bloomy. ^May-June. Meadows and thickets in 



mountains; Honshu, Shikoku, Kyushu. Formosa, and a 



variety in Korea and China. 



2. Smilax riparia A. DC. var. ussuriensis (Regel) Hara 

 & T. Koyama. S. ovatorotunda var. ussuriensis (Regel) 

 Hara; S. herbacea var. oldhamii (Miq.) Maxim., excl. syn.; 

 S. nipponica sensu auct. Japon., non Miq.; S. maximowiczii 



Koidz.; S. higoensis var. maximowiczii (Koidz.) Kitag. 



Shiode. Plant herbaceous, much branched; stems striate; 

 leaves relatively thick, rather firm, slightly lustrous above, 

 paler beneath, ovate or ovate-oblong, 5-15 cm. long, 2.5-7 cm. 

 wide, short-acuminate, usually cordate or sometimes rounded 

 at base, 5- to 7-nerved, glabrous, rarely with papillae on 

 slightly raised veinlets beneath, the petioles 5-25 (-30) mm. 

 long, tendril-bearing; umbels many-flowered, simple, axillary, 

 the pedicels 7-12 mm. long, the staminate tepals recurved, 

 lanceolate, about 4 mm. long, the stamens 2/3-4/5 as long as 

 the tepals; anthers about 1.5 mm. long; staminodes absent in 

 the pistillate flowers. July-Aug. Hokkaido, Honshu, Shi- 

 koku, Kyushu. Forma stenophylla (Hara) T. Koyama. 



5. ovatorotunda forma stenophylla Hara; S. higoensis auct., 



non Miq.; S. oldhamii var. higoensis Ohwi, excl. syn. Ho- 



soBA-SHiODE. A narrow-leaved phase. 



3. Smilax vaginata Decne. var. stans (Maxim.) T. Ko- 

 yama. S. stans Maxim. Maruba-sankirai. Stems erect, 



angled, unarmed, firm, green, occasionally to rather profusely 

 branched; leaves thinly chartaceous, deltoid-ovate to broadly 

 ovate, 4-7 cm. long, 3-6 cm. wide, short-acuminate, rounded 

 to shallowly cordate, green above, whitish beneath, (3-)5- 

 nerved, the petioles 8-15 mm. long, without tendrils; umbels 

 pedunculate, axillary, several-flowered; flowers yellow-green, 

 the pistillate tepals elliptic, about 3 mm. long, the inner whorl 

 slightiy narrower than the outer; staminodia present in pistil- 

 late flowers; berry black, globose, about 6 mm. in diameter. 

 ^May-June. Honshu, Shikoku, Kyushu; rare. 



4. Smilax biflora Sieb. ex Miq. 5. china var. biflora 



(Sieb.) Makino Hime-kakara, Hime-saru-tori-ibara. 



Rhizomes creeping; stems 15-30 cm. long, densely branched, 

 flexuous, the branchlets angled, often scattered-prickly; leaves 

 broadly ovate to orbicular, mucronate, usually rounded at both 

 ends, subcoriaceous, green, whitish beneath, 5-15 mm. long, 

 3-nerved, the petioles 2-3 mm. long, the tendrils 0-1.5 mm. 

 long, subulate; umbels axillary, short-pedunculate, about 2- 

 flowered; flowers yellow-green, the staminate tepals elliptic, 

 obliquely spreading, recurved above, about 3 mm. long, the 

 inner whorl narrowly oblong; stamens 1/2-3/5 as long as the 

 tepals, the anthers elliptic, about 0.5 mm. long; berry red, 



globose, about 5 mm. long. Apr. Mountains; Kyushu 



(Yakushima) . Ryukyus (Ainami-oshima) . 



Var. trinervula (Miq.) Hatusima. S. trinervula Miq.; S. 



sarumame Ohwi; S. china var. trinervula (Miq.) Makino 



Saru-mame. Stems erect, 30-50 cm. long, loosely branched; 

 leaves elliptic to oblong or suborbicular, 1.5-4 cm. long, 1-2.5 

 cm. wide, glaucous beneath. May-June. Mountains; Hon- 

 shu (Kanto Distr. and westw.) . 



5. Smilax china L. Coprosmanthus japonicus Kunth; 



S. japonica (Kunth) A. Gray Saru-tori-ibara. Rhizomes 



woody, stout, creeping; stems firm, 0.5-2 m. long, profusely 

 branched, ascending to spreading, the branches green, usually 

 more or less prickly; leaves coriaceous, lustrous, ovate to ovate- 

 orbicular or elliptic, 3-12 cm. long, 2-10 cm. wide, mucronate, 

 rounded or sometimes shallowly cordate or cuneate at base, 3- 

 to 5-nerved, smooth, sometimes glaucescent beneath; petioles 

 7-20 mm. long, with a long tendril near the middle on each 

 side; umbels axillary, many-flowered, pedunculate; staminate 

 tepals ascending, elliptic, recurved above, about 4 mm. long, 

 the inner whorl narrower; filaments about 2/3 as long as the 

 outer tepals, the anthers elliptic, about 0.6 mm. long; fruit 



red, globose, about 7 mm. in diameter. Apr. Hills and 



mountains; Hokkaido, Honshu, Shikoku, Kyushu; common. 

 ■ China and Korea. 



6. Smilax sebeana Miq. S. iriomotensis Masam.; S. 

 maritima Hatus. Hama-saru-tori-ibara. Evergreen scan- 

 dent liana with terete, smooth or loosely prickly steins; leaves 

 chartaceous to thickly so, orbicular-ovate, ovate, oblong-ovate 

 or elliptic, 3-12 cm. long, 1.3-10 cm. wide, the upper surface 

 lustrous, the lower surface very glaucous and waxy, cuneate to 

 rounded at base, shortly acute to rounded at apex, nerves 3 to 

 7, the lateral veins reticulate, prominently elevated on the 

 lower surface, the petioles short, curved, the lower 2/3 to 1/2 

 sheathing; tendrils shorter than to almost as long as the blade; 

 umbel solitary, with 17-56 smooth slender rays to 15 mm. 

 long; peduncle moderately compressed, smooth; perianth seg- 

 ments slightly recurved in flowering, the staminate 3.5-5 mm. 

 long, the pistillate 3-3.5 mm. long; stamens 6; berry globose, 

 (5-) 7-8 mm. in diameter, blue-black to dark purple; seeds 1 



