CIY. LILIACEiE 
523 
Flowers solitary or in small clusters. 
Cladodes fiat, curved ........ 1. A. filicinus. 
Cladodes terete, straight 2. A. gracilis. 
Flowers in racemes. 
Cladodes spreading, 2-6 in each tuft. Prickles recurved 3. A. racemosus. 
Cladodes erect, 6-20 in each tuft. Prickles straight . 4. A. adscendens. 
1. Asparagus filicinus, Bueh.-IIam. ; FI. Br. Ind. vi. 314. Stems 
often tall, erect, hollow, unarmed. Cladodes J-J in., flat, curved, 
in tufts of 2-5. Flowers polygamous, single or in pairs ; stalks 
about \ in., very slender. 
Mushobra, in woods ; June.— Temperate Himalaya. — -Burmah, China. 
2. Asparagus gracilis, Boyle ; FI. Br. Ind. vi. 315. Stems 
tall, slender, erect, prickly on the lower branches. Cladodes 
in., straight, stiff, in tufts of 2-5. Flowers in clusters of 3-4, 
sometimes in pairs, rarely solitary, very shortly stalked. 
Valleys below 6000 ft. ; July, August. — Plains of the Punjab. — Baluchistan. 
3. Asparagus racemosus, Willd . ; FI. Br. Ind. vi. 316. Stems 
tall, climbing ; prickles about \ in., more or less recurved. Cladodes 
j— 1 in., curved, terete, spreading, in tufts of 2-6. Flowers in 
racemes 1-4 in. long ; stalks 1 in., very slender. 
Valleys below 4000 ft. ; July-October. — Throughout India. — Tropical Africa 
and Australia. 
4. Asparagus adscendens, Boxb . ; FI. Br. Ind. vi. 317. Stems tall, 
straggling or half-climbing ; spines in., straight ; branches 
grooved, rough. Cladodes in., straight or slightly curved, 
terete, erect, in crowded tufts of 6-20. Flowers in numerous 
racemes 1-3 in. long; stalks very short. 
Syree, 6000 ft. ; November. — Plains of the Punjab. — Afghanistan. 
3. P0LYG0NATUM. From the Greek polu, many, and gonu , 
a knee; referring to the zigzag stem. — N. temperate regions. 
Herbs, glabrous or nearly so ; rootstock thick, creeping ; 
stems unbranched, the upper part leafy and zigzag. Leaves 
alternate or whorled, veins parallel. Flowers drooping, in 
axillary, single or whorled, short, loose, corymbose racemes, the 
flower-stalks jointed near the top. Perianth tubular, 6-lobed. 
Stamens 6, inserted in the tube ; filaments very short. Ovary 3- 
celled ; style linear, straight, stigma small, terminal ; ovules usually 
2 in each cell. Berry globose, blue-black, more or less enclosed 
at first in the withered perianth ; seeds few. 
Leaves alternate . . . . . . . . 1 . P. multiflorum. 
Leaves whorled 
Tips of leaves straight . . . . . . . 2. P. verticillatum. 
Tips of leaves tendril-like 3. P. cirrifolium. . 
