( 291 .) 
TA'MUS* * 
Linnean Class and Order. DiCE'ciAf, Hexa'ndria. 
Natural Order. Dioscorea;, Dr. R. Brown. — Lindl. Syn. (2nd 
edit.) p. 271. — Hook. Br. FI. (4th ed.) p. 426. — Smilacea:, Lindl. 
Syn. p. 270. ; Introd. to Nat. Syst. of Bot. p. 277. — Asparagines, 
Rich, by Macgilliv. p. 402. — Asparagi, sect. 3. Juss. Gen. PI. pp. 
40 & 43. — Sm. Gram, of Bot. pp. 71 & 72. — Ta'mes, Loud. Hort. 
Brit. p. 538. — Musales ; sect. Taccins ; type, Dioscorace.e ; 
Burn. Outl. of Bot. v. i. pp. 437, 439, & 440. — Sarmkntaces, 
Linn. 
Gen. Char. Sterile Flowers (fig. 1). Calyx none. Corolla [ see 
fig. 1.) regular, in 6 deep, egg-spear-shaped segments; their upper 
part spreading horizontally. Filaments (fig. 3.) 6, awl-shaped, 
simple, equal, shorter than the corolla. Anthers roundish, upright. 
— Fertile Flowers (fig. 2). Calyx none. Corolla (see fig. 2.) supe- 
rior, in 6 deep segments, contracted at the neck, deciduous. Nectary 
a small oblong pore, at the inside of the base of each segment. 
Germen (see figs. 2 & 4.) inferior, egg-oblong, large, smooth. Style 
(see fig. 4.) short, cylindrical, the length of the corolla. Stigmas 3, 
spreading, acute. Berry (fig. 5.) juicy, oval, of 3 cells. Seeds (see 
figs. 6 & 7.) 2 in each cell, with a blackish brittle skin. 
The single perianth, in 6 deep segments, the staminiferous ones 
spreading ; the pistiliferous ones superior and contracted at the 
neck ; the single style, with 3 stigmas; and the 3-celled berry ; will 
distinguish this from other genera in the same class and order. 
One species British. 
TA'MUS COMMU'NIS. Common Black Byrony. Wild Vine. 
Lady’s Seal. 
Spec. Char. Leaves heart-shaped, undivided, acute. 
Engl. Bot. t. 91. — Curt. Brit. Entomol. v. x. t. 443. — Linn. Sp. PI. p. 1458. — 
Huds. FI. Angl. (2nded. ) p. 433. — Willd. Sp. PI. v. iv. pt. ii. p. 772. — Sm. FI. 
Brit. v. iii. p. 1078. ; Engl. FI. v. iv. p. 241. — With. (7th ed. ) v. ii. p. 437. — Gray's 
Nat. Arr. v. ii. p. 190. — Lindl. Syn. p. 271. — Hook. Brit. FI. p. 436. — Sibth. FI. 
Oxon. p. 117. — Abbot’s FI. Bedf. p. 214. — Davies’ Welsh Bot. p. 94. — Purt. Midi. 
FI. v. ii. p. 477. — Relh. FI. Cant. (3rd ed. ) p. 408. — FI. Devon, pp. 160 & 129. — 
Winch’s Fl. of Northumb. and Durham, p. 64. — Walker’s FI. of Oxf. p. 296. — Bab. 
FI. Bath. p. 50. — Tamnus racemosa, flore minore luteo-pallescente, Ray’s 
Syn. p. 262. — Bryonia nigra, Johnson’s Gerarde, p. 871. 
Localities. — In hedges, thickets, woods, &c. Common in most parts of Eng- 
land ; not in the Floras of Scotland or of Ireland. 
Perennial. — Flowers in June. 
Fig. 1. A Sterile Flower. — Fig. 2. A Fertile Flower. — Fig. 3. Stamens of a 
Sterile Flower. — Fig. 4. The Germen, Style, and Stigmas of a Fertile Flower. — 
Fig. 5. A Berry. — Fig. 6. A transverse section of a Berry. — Fig. 7. A Seed. — Figs. 
1, 2, 3, & 4, slightly magnified. 
* Supposed to be the Uva Timinia of Pliny, or Black Byrony. Sir W. J, 
IIookeb. t See folio 143, note t. 
