34 The Vines of North Carolina 



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mountains. The flowers are tubular, 1 to 2 inches long, scarlet 

 without and yellow within. In rich soils it has a very luxuriant 

 growth, climbing high into forest trees. 



2. Yellow Woodbine. (L. grata, Ait.) — This belongs to the 

 mountains, and has a flower 1 to li/2 inch long, reddish on the 

 tubular part, whitish at top, then changing to yellow, somewhat 

 fragrant. The young branches are often hairy. 



3. Small Woodbine. (L. parviflora, Linn.) — Found in the 

 mountains, less climbing than the others, with flowers about % 

 inch long, somewhat swollen at the base of the tube, and greenish- 

 yellow tinged with purple. 



I have heard of a yellow species in Gates County, but have 

 never seen any specimens. 



1. Common Bamboo or Green Brier. (Smilax rotundifolia, 

 Linn.) — Very common in all the Districts, generally in thickets 

 where the soil is rather fertile, 20 to 40 feet long, the stems and 

 branches of a yellowish-green color, round, and armed with 

 strong prickles, the branchlets slightly angled. The leaves are 

 deciduous, 3 or 4 inches long, roundish and heart-shaped. The 

 berries, as in most of the species, are bluish-black, borne in 

 bunches upon a common stalk in the fork of the leaves, and which 

 is about the same length with the leaf-stalk. 



2. (S. tamnoides, Linn.) — A stout prickly vine with angled 

 branchlets, occurring in the Lower and Middle Districts. The 

 leaves are somewhat fiddle-shaped or contracted in the middle, 

 the base sometimes spreading into rounded projections. The 

 general fruit-stalk is a little flattened, about 1% inch long, and 

 twice the length of the leaf -stalk. 



3. China Root. (S. Pseudo-China, Linn.) — Stout and prickly 

 like No. 2, 10 to 15 feet long, the branches roundish and not 

 prickly, and the roots tuberous. The leaves are large, 4 to 7 

 inches long, ovate, green both sides, the edges and nerves on the 

 underside roughened with minute prickles. The general fruit- 

 stalk is flat and 2 or 3 inches long. The berries are blackish and 

 larger than in the preceding species. 



4. Sarsaparilla. (S. glauca, Walt.) — Not uncommon in all 

 the Districts in cultivated grounds near streams. The stems are 

 prickly and 2 to 4 feet long. The leaves are ovate, and covered, 

 especially on the underside, with a white bloom that rubs off 

 under the finger. The berries are black. The common fruit- 

 stalk is 2 or 3 times longer than the leaf -stalk. The root of this 

 is sometimes used in the composition of diet drinks. It is not the 

 Sarsaparilla of the druggists, but is said to be often mixed with 

 it. 



