LILY FAMILY 39 
or panicles, bracted, nodding. Perianth bell-shaped; segments 
6, nearly alike, deciduous. Stamens 6; filaments thickened 
above, often papillose; anthers small. Ovary sessile, 3-celled 
or becoming 6-celled, 3-angled, many-ovuled. Fruit an ob- 
long, 3-angled, many-seeded, dehiscent capsule, or fleshy and 
indehiscent.* 
1. Y. glauca Nutt. Bear Grass, Soap Weep. Stem very short. 
Leaves basal, long, straight and slender, stiff, sharp-pointed, the 
margins white and with a few thread-like filaments, 1-1 in. wide. 
Flowers racemed, greenish-white, globose or oblong, bell-shaped. 
Style green; capsule large, oblong, six-sided. Dry soil W. 
2. Y. filamentosa L. Spanisu Daccer. Stem stout, 4-12 in. high. 
Leaves linear or linear-lanceolate, slender-pointed, narrowed above 
the spreading and clasping base, spreading or recurved, smooth, with 
loose, thread-like filaments on the margins. Panicle elongated, with 
bract-like leaves on the scape, widely branched, downy-hairy above, 
3-6 ft. high. Perianth white, bell-shaped, 2 in. wide. Capsule oblong, 
angles rounded, sides furrowed, at length 3-valved and dehiscent. In 
sandy soil, and often cultivated for ornament.* 
XVII. ASPARAGUS L. 
Stem from fleshy, fibrous roots, erect, branched ; branches 
slender, with thread-like branchlets in the axils of scales which 
take the place of leaves. Flowers small, solitary or racemed. 
Perianth 6-parted ; segments distinct or slightly united. Sta- 
mens 6, perigynous; filaments thread-like. Ovary 3-celled, 6- 
ovuled; style short, slender; stigmas 3, recurved. Fruit a 
berry.* 
1. A. officinalis L. Asparagus. Stem succulent and simple, with 
fleshy scales when young; becoming taller, more woody, and widely 
branched, when old. Flowers axillary, solitary, or 2 or 3 together on 
slender, jointed, drooping pedicels, greenish; segments linear. Berry 
red, few-seeded. Introduced from Europe, common in cultivation, 
and often escaped.* 
XIX. SMILACINA Desf. (VAGNERA) 
Perennial, simple-stemmed herbs, with rootstocks. Leaves 
usually sessile, nerved, alternate. Flowers white, in a terminal 
raceme. Perianth spreading, 6-parted. Stamens 6, somewhat 
perigynous; filaments slender; anthers short, facing inward. 
