THE AMERICAN BOTANIST. 
51 
scribed only as stenches. These odors attract flies, and the 
flowers are thus as effectively pohinated as any. 
There are many things about the veg-etative parts of 
this group that are of interest. For the most part, the 
leaves are long and narrow (linear), but many broad- 
leaved forms are known. Although this is a typical Mono- 
cotyledon family, some of the broad-leaved forms are net- 
veined, as in the yams and smilaxes. The great majority 
are herbaceous perennials, but a few like Dracaena and 
Yucca are shrubby or tree-like. The herbaceous species are 
mostly geophilous with the intermittent life-habit; that is, 
the main stem is underground in the form of a corm, bulb 
or rootstock. Into these underground parts the plants seem 
to retreat whenever danger above ground threatens. In 
our own region the danger is usually from cold, but in other 
parts of the world it may be extreme heat or drouth. In 
these underground parts a considerable food supply is 
stored, allowing a rapid development of the parts above 
ground when a favorable season returns. Man has taken 
advantage of the plants' providence, and regularly uses the 
food store of some species, as the yams and onion. Saffron 
comes from one of the iris family, asparagus, aloes and 
squills from the Itly family. Sarsaparilla is obtained from 
one of the smilax family. The Liliales. however, are valued 
more for the beauty of their flowers tiian for their edible 
qualities. 
The fruits of this order are either drj- capsules or ber- 
ries. The species with capsules have no very- specialized 
methods of seed distribution, and the species seldom extend 
over very wide territory. Those with bern.^-like fruits, 
adapted to dispersal by animals, have a much wider distribu- 
tion. The order, however, is represented nearly throughout 
the world, being ven,^ common in regions where xerophytic 
conditions prevail. 
