FAMILIES OF FLOWERING PLANTS. 51 
Family Convallariaceae. Lily-of-the-Valley Family. The genera 
of this group are 23, the species about 215, of wide distribution. 
These too are all herbs, and they grow without exception from root- 
stocks instead of bulbs. The leaves are usually broad and veiny; the 
perianth is variously shaped and colored. The chief distinctiue char- 
acter is found in the fruit, which is a fleshy berry. A good example 
of this fruit may be seen on the Solomon’s seal (Polygonatum) in mid- 
summer. That important succulent vegetable known as Asparagus 
“belongs to this family, and oddly enough the little Smilax with which 
we decorate our tables and bouquets is also a member of the genus 
Asparagus. In all the species of this genus the true leaves are re- 
duced to little scales, and the leaf-like organs which we perceive in the 
Smilax are called phyllodia. Thus they are functionally leaves, but 
structurally branchlets. The Lily-of-the-valley (Convallaria) and the 
Clintonia, both of which grow wild in the southern Alleghenies, are 
two exceedingly ornamental members of this family. 
