LiLiACE^. (lilt family.) 467 



3. SmiLACtNA, Desf. False Soloxon'b Seal. 



Perianth ■t-6-parted, spreading, deciduous (white), with as many stamens 

 inserted at the base of the divisions. Filaments slender : anthers shoft. Ovary 

 2-3-c6lled, with 2 ovules in each cell: style short and thick : stigma obscurely 

 2-3-lobed. Berry globular, 1 -2-seeded. — Perennial herbs, with simple stems 

 from creeping or thickish rootstocks, alternate nerved leaves, and white, often 

 fragrant flowers in a terminal simple or compound raceme. (Name a diminu- 

 tive of Smilax, which, however, these plants are quite unlike.) 



§ 1. SMILACINA Propek. — Divisions of tie perianth (obbng-lanceotate) and 

 stamens 6, the loiter kmger : ovary 3-ceUed: outdes coUaterai : racemes crowded in 

 a compound racente or close panicle. 



1. S. racemosa, Desf. (False Sfikekasd.) Minutely downy ; leaves 

 numeix)us, oblong or oval-lanceolate, taper-pointed, ciliate, abruptly somewhat 

 petioled. — Moist copses ; common. Jane. — Stem 2° high from a thickish 

 rootstock, zigzag. Berries pale red, speckled with purple, axomatic. (S. cili^ 

 ata, Desf., is a dwarf state of this.) 



§ 2. ASTEKANTHEMUM, Knnth. — Divisimxs of the perianth B, oblong-lance- 

 olate, longer than the stamens ; ovary 2 — Z<eUed: ovules one above the otker : raceme 

 single, 5 - l2-Jlowered. 



2. S. Stellata, Desf. Nearly glabrous, or the 7-12 ofcfon^-fanceofafe/eaHet 

 minutely downy beneath when young, slightly clasping ; berries blockish. — 

 Moist banks ; common, especially northward. May, June. — Plant l°-2° 

 high. (Eu.) 



3. S. trifolia, Desf. Glabrous, rfjoai/ (3' -6' high); leaves 3 (sometimes 

 2 or 4), oblong, tapering to a sheathing base; berries red. — Cold bogs. New 

 England to Wisconsin, and northward. May. 



^3. MAIANTHEMUM, Desf. — Divisions of the reflexed-spreading perianth 

 (oval) and the stamens 4, of equal length : ovary 2-ceUed: ovdes collateral: raceme 

 single, mamj-fljowered, 



4. S. 'bifolia, Ker. Glabrous, or somewhat pubescent, low (3' -5' high); 

 leaves mostly 2 (sometimes 3), heai-t-shaped, petioled, or in our plant (var. 

 Canadensis) one or both often sessile or nearly so and clasping. — Moist 

 woods ; very common, especially northward. May. (Eu.) 



4. CONVAIiliABIA, L. (in part). Lilt of the Valley, 



Perianth bell-shaped (white), 6-lobed, deciduous ; the lobes recui-ved. Sta- 

 mens 6, included, inserted on the base of the perianth. Ovary 3-celled, tapering 

 into a stout style : stigma triangular. Ovules 4 - 6 in each cell. Berry few- 

 seeded (red). — A low perennial herb, glabrous, stemless, with slender running 

 rootstocks, sending up from a scaly-sheathing bud 2 oblong leaves, with their 

 long sheathing petioles enrolled one within the other so as to appear like a stalk, 

 and an angled scape bearing a one-sided raceme of pretty sweet-scented uoddii;;,' 

 flowers. (Altered from Lilimn coiimllium, the popular name.) 



