518 ORDER CXIX.' — SMIXACEJS. 



Genus L— SMFLAX. L. 20—6. 

 (From smile, a scraper, from their rough stems.) 



Flowers dioecious. Perianth campanulate, spreading, 6- 

 parted. Sterile florets with 6 stamens ; fertile ones with 4 

 styles and 3 stigmas. Berry globose, 1 — 3-celled, 1 — 3-seeded. 



1. S. laurifo'lia, (L.) Stem prickly, climbing ; branches unarmed. 

 Leaves oval-lanceolate, crowded, acuminate, lucid, perennial. Flowers 

 in axillary umbels, on short peduncles. Fruit black, 1-seeded. — "White. 

 ^ . July. Swamps. N. J. to Lou. 



2. S. rotundifo'lta, (L.) Stem prickly, flexuous. Leaves cordate, 

 ovate, nearly round, 5 — 7 -nerved, pale beneath. Flowers in umbels, on 

 very long peduncles. — White. ^ . June. Rich soils. 



Var. S. quadrangula'ris, (Muhl.) Stem quadrangular, prickly at 

 the base, unarmed toward the summit. Leaves ovate, unarmed, slightly 

 cordate, 5-nerved, distinctly reticulate. — White. ^ . June — July. Dry 

 soils. 



3. S. cadu'ca, (L.) Stem flexuous, prickly, somewhat angled. Leaves 

 ovate, mucronate, 5-nerved. Flowers in axillary umbels, on short pe- 

 duncles. — White. ^. June — July. Dry fields. Very common. 



4. S. pu'mila, (Walt.) Stem unarmed, prostrate, pubescent, sparingly 

 branched. Leaves cordate-ovate, somewhat 5-nerved, pubescent be- 

 neath. Flowers in axillary umbels, on short peduncles. Fruit white, 

 1-seeded. — Greenish-yellow. ^ . Sept. — Oct. In rich, shaded soils. 



S. puberula, Mich. 



5. S. sarsaparil'la, (L.) Stem slightly angled, prickly; prickles 

 subulate, incurved. leaves ovate-lanceolate, unarmed, cuspidate, 5- 

 nerved, glaucous beneath. Flowers on long peduncles, small. Fruit 

 black, 3-seeded. — White. ^ . June — July. Rich soils. 



6. S. tamnoi'des, (L.) Stem twining, prickly, tere f e. Leaves ovate- 

 oblong, 5-nerved, panduriform, acute, shining, somewhat rigid. Flowers 

 in axillary umbels. Fruit black. — White. ^ . June — July. Dry 

 soils. 



7. S. pandura'ta, (Pursh.) Stem glabrous ; branches angular, prickly, 

 flexuous. Leaves ovate, panduriform, 3-lobed, acuminate, mucronate, 

 rounded at the base, 7-nerved, membranaceous. Staminate peduncles 

 axillary, solitary, many-flowered; leaves of the perianth lanceolate- 

 acute. Fruit-bearing branches terete ; fruit black. — Car. to Lou. 



8. S. Beyrich'ia, (Br.) Unarmed, glabrous. Branches angular, stri- 

 ate, flexuous, green. Leaves auriculate, lanceolate, acute, mucronate, 

 rounded at the base, 5-nerved, glabrous. Tendrils long, filiform, spiral, 

 glabrous. Umbels axillary, solitary, many-flowered. Flowers on capil- 

 lary pedicels. Perianth 6-leaved, glabrous; leaflets lanceolate, 1- 

 nerved. — ^ . Humid, shady places. Car. and Geo. 



9. S. hederjEfo'lia, (Br.) Unarmed, glabrous. Branchlets quad- 

 rangular; branches nearly terete. Leaves subdeltoid-ovate, somewhat 

 3-lobed, mucronate, rounded or slightly cordate at the base, 5 — 7- 

 nerved, membranaceous. Umbels axillary, solitary, many-flowered. 

 Ovary naked, sessile, subglobose, smooth, 3-celled. — ^ . Geo. Banks of 

 streams, in the middle and low country. 



