DIOECIA IIEXAXDRIA 567 



Ell. Sk. t.p. 702. Torr. Comp. p. 374. LindL Encv. p. 838. Beck 

 I c. Eat. Man. p. 343, 



Herbaceous Smilax. Vulgo — Carrion-flower. 



Root perennial. Stem 2 to 4 or 6 feet long, erect, or leaning, often flaccid at 

 summit and nodding, mostly simple (or with a few slender cirrhuse miliar* 

 branches, bearing a few small leaves at or near the summit), angular, smooth, 

 frequently purple. Leaves 2 to 3 inches long, and i to 2 inches w ide, cordate, or 

 umctimes lance-ovate, acuminate, entire, mostly 7-ner,ved, smooth above, with a 

 short pubescence on the nerves and veins beneath ; petioles an inch to an inch 

 and half long, margined at base, with a long tendril on each side at the summit 

 o( the margin. Flowers yellowish-green, of an intolerably fuHid and carr ion-like 

 odor, numerous, in globose axillary umbels about an inch in diameter,-the common 

 peduncles long, compressed,-tlu.se of the staminate umbels scarcely as long as 

 t c leaves (2 or 3 inches iong),-those of the pistillate umbels longer than the 

 leaves (5 or 6 inches long). Berries bluish-black when mature. 

 Hub, Meadows; fence-rows, &c. frequent. FL May— June. Fr, Sept. 



Oft*. There is no difficulty in recognizing this plant by the abominable fa-tor 

 of its flowers,— which is so strong as frequently to deceive the carrion flies. The 

 offensive odor, however, is completely dissipated by drying. I have a suspicion 

 that the S. pedunvularis, of Authors, is nothing more than a variety of this. Ten 

 or urelvfl additional species arc enumerated in the U. States, 



453. DIOSCOREA. L. Mutt. Gen. 794. 

 [Dedicated to the memory of the ancient Greek Naturalist, Dioscorides.] 



SrAMixxTE Fl. Perianth 6-parted ; segments lance-ovate, spreading. 

 Pistillate Fl. Perianth as in the staminate flowers. Ovary infe- 

 rior, oblong, 3-angled, angles winged ; styles 3. Capsule 3-winged, 

 2 or 3-ceiied ; cells 2-secded. Seed* compressed, membranaceously 

 margined. 



Herbaceous: stem volubile; leaves mostly alternate and simple, without stip- 

 ules ; flowers axillary, racemose, or paniculate, Kal. Ord. 200, LindL Dioacoaic *• 



I. D. villosa, L. Leaves alternate, sub-opposite, and verticillate, cor- 

 date, acuminate, pubescent beneath. Beck, Bot. p. 355. 

 D. paniculata. Mx. Am % 2. p. 239. 

 Villose Dioscorea. Vulffd — Wild Yam. 



Root perennial. S/*m6to 10 or 12 feet long, slender, smooth, manly simple, 

 twining and climbing shrubs and fences. Leaves mostly alternate, Sometimes 

 subopposite, rarely in verticils of 4 at summit, 2 to 3 or 4 inches long, and an inch 

 and half to near 3 inches wide, cordate, acuminate, entire, smooth above, gener- 

 ally pubescent and somewhat cinereous beneath, sometimes smooth and bluish- 

 glaucous, 9 to ll-nerved,— the lateral nerves, especially in the staminate plants, 

 often divided ; petioles an inch and half to 2 and a half inches long, suJcate-an- 

 {led, smooth. Staminate flowers pale green, small, in axillary panicles, disposed 

 in small clusters on the branches of the panicles, the branches with small lance- 

 ohie bracts ^i base. Pistillate flowers in simple axillary pedunculate racemes, 

 rather distant and subsessile on the common peduncle, minutely bractcate at 

 base. Capsules about 3 fourths of an inch in length, and about as wide as long, 

 often 2-celled by abortion, 3-angled, the angles dilated into broad semi-oval wings, 

 » wings compressed, smooth, greenish-tawny, with a narrow dark-brown mar- 



