LILIACEAE 



LILY FAMILY 



FALSE SPIKENARD 



Smilacina racemosa (L.) Desf. 



This species grows in rich woods from Nova Scotia to British 

 Columbia and south to Georgia, Missouri and Arizona. In most 

 parts of Illinois it is verv common, and it blooms from Mav to 

 July. 



It grows I -3 feet high and usually the stem is 

 somewhat downy. The leaves are 3-6 inches long, 

 acuminate and oblong-lanceolate or oval, sessih 

 lower short petioled, 

 finely hairy beneath 

 and sometimes above, 

 and with margins finely 

 hairy. 



Numerous small 

 white flowers are borne 

 in a dense panicle 

 which is 1-4 inches long 

 and peduncled. The 6 

 perianth segments are 

 oblong, equal and 

 separate, and at the 

 base of each a stamen is 

 attached by its slender 

 filament. The berries ai 

 speckled with purple. They 

 are about one-quarter inch in 

 diameter, have a strong pleas- 

 ant odor, and are eaten in 

 great numbers by birds. 



Another very dainty member of this 

 family, which grows in moist woods and 



blooms from May to July, is theWild Lily of the Valley, Maianthemntn 

 canadense Desf. It is small, with a slender, often zigzag stem 2-7 

 inches high, usually bearing only 1 alternate leaves. The leaves are 

 lanceolate-ovate, heart shaped at the base, with a very narrow sinus, 

 and are sessile or short petioled. The small white flowers are pro- 

 duced in a terminal, rather dense and many flowered raceme. Unlike 

 most Lilies, the perianth segments and the stamens are 4, and the 

 ovary is 2-celled. The fruits are speckled pale-red berries about 

 one-fifth of an inch in diameter. 



