314 LILY FAJIILY. 



S. amplexif61ius. Stem stout, rough at base, 2° - 3° high ; leaves stronpr- 

 ly clasping, smooth, glaucous beneath ; flower whitish, on a long stalk with 

 abrupt bend above the middle ; anthers slender-pointed ; stigma truncate. 



S. rdseus. Stem 1° - 2° high ; leaves green, finely ciliate, and with the 

 few branches beset with more short and fine bristly hairs ; flower rose-purple, 

 on a less bent stalk ; anthers 2-horned ; stigma 3-cleft. 



16. CONVALLARIA, LILY-OF-THE-V ALLEY. (Name altered 

 from the Latin Lilium convaUium, of which the English name is a translation. ) 

 n. late spring. 



C. majalis, the only true species, cult, everywhere, from Europe, and wild 

 on the higher AUeghanies ; its small sweet-scented white flowers familiar. 



17. SMILACINA, FALSE SOLOMON'S SEAL. (Name a diminutive 

 of Smilax, which these plants do not resemble.) Wild in woods or low 

 grounds : fl. late spring. 



§ 1. Perianth of only 4 reflexed sprending divisions: stamens 4 : ovarij 2-cdled. 



S. bifolia. In all moist woods N. : 3' - 6' high ; stem bearing 2 (sometimes 

 3) heart-shaped leaves, and a short raceme of small flowers ; hemes red. 



§ 2. Pei'ianth ofQ divisions: stamens 6 \\ovarij S-crlled, rarely 2-celled, 

 S. trifolia. Cold bogs N. : 3' -6' high, smooth, with mostly 3 oblong 

 leaves tapering to a sheathing base ; raceme loose, few-flowered ; berries red. 



S. steil&ta. Eocky places N. :-l°-2° high, smooth, or the 7-12 lance- 

 oblong leaves minutely downy when young ; raceme several-flowered ; berries 

 blackish. 



S. raGein6sa. Moist copses and banks, chiefly N. : 2° high, minutely 

 downy, leafy to the top ; the oblong or lance-oval leaves ciliate, pointed at each 

 end ; flowers small, crowded in a compound raceme; the divisions of perianth 

 narrow ; berries pale red and speckled. 



18. POLYGOWATUM, SOLOMON'S SEAL. (Name in Greek means 

 "mnny-joinled. The English name is from the rootstocks, the impression of 

 the seal being the scar left by the death and separation of the st«m of a former 

 year: Lessons, p. 42, fig. 66.) Stem recurving or turned to one side. Fl. 

 late spring and early summer. 



P. taifldrum, Smaller S. Wooded banks : l°-3° high; the ovate-oblong 

 or lance-oblong leaves nearly sessile and glaucous or minutely whitish-downy 

 beneath ; peduncles mostly 2-flowered ; filaments roughened, borne above the 

 middle of the tube. -' ' 



P. gigantfeum, Largek S. Alluvial grounds N. -. 3° -8° high, smooth ; 

 leaves ovate, partly clasping ; peduncles 2 - 8-flowered ; filaments smooth and 

 naked, borne on the middle of the tube. 



19. ASPARAGUS. (The ancient Greek name.) Fl. early summer. 



A. ofiacin^is, Common Aspakagcs. Cult, from Eu. for its esculent 

 spring shoots, spontaneous about gardens : tall, bushy-branched, the leaves 

 thread-shaped. 



20. MYBSIPHYLLUM. (The name in Greek means myrtWrawd) 

 M. asparagoides, of Cape Good Hope : a very smooth delicate 



twiner, cult, in conservatories for winter decoration, under the name of 

 Smilax : the bright green so-called leaves 1' or more long, glossy-green both 

 sides, nerved, set edgewise on the branch, but turning so as to present an upper 

 and under face ; the small flowers produced in winter, sweet-scented, with 

 reddish anthers; berries green. — That the seeming leaves are of the nature 

 of branches is shown in Ruscus, the Butcher's BRooir, of Europe (here 

 rarely cultivated), where they are rigid, spiny-tipped, and bear flowers on on« 

 face. 



