FAMILIES OF PLANTS 
41 
woods and meadows throughout the United States, except in the 
extreme west. 
Smilacina sessilifolia is very similar, except that the leaves are 
not folded and the fruits are usually black when ripe. 
Smilacina amplexicaulis differs from the other two species by hav¬ 
ing the flowers in a compound raceme; also it is a somewhat larger 
plant. 
The genus Smilacina is commonly known as solomonplume. 
Other members of the lily family that have been reported in the 
park are: Alplily ( Lloydia sero- 
tina) , Purple-eye mariposa ( Colo - 
chortus eurycarpus) , and Calo- 
chortus pavonaceus. Purple-eve 
mariposa is fairly abundant near 
West Yellowstone. 
Figure 24.- —Solomonplume. White. Pho- Figure 25. —Solomonplume. White. Pho¬ 
tograph by A. R. Sweetser. tograph by Thos. R. Ashlee. 
IEIS FAMILY (IEIDACEAE) 
A small family of plants with grasslike leaves and showy flowers 
constructed strictly on a numerical plan of three. They differ from 
the lilies in having the parts of the flower attached above the ovary. 
Many varieties of iris are cultivated as ornamental plants. 
Eocky Mountain iris {Iris missouriensis) .—-The slender shoot grows 
from a stout underground stem and bears one or two large, light 
