2. P. giganteum, Dietrich. (GREAT S.) _Glabrous throughout_; stem stout and mostly tall (2--7 high), terete; _leaves ovate, partly clasping_ (3--8' long), or the upper oblong and nearly sessile, many-nerved; _peduncles several-(2--8-) flowered_, jointed below the flower; flowers 5--9" long; _filaments smooth and naked_, or nearly so, inserted on the middle of the tube.--Meadows and river-banks, N. Eng. to Va., west to the Rocky Mts. June.

12. ASPaRAGUS, Tourn. ASPARAGUS.

Perianth 6-parted, spreading above; the 6 stamens on its base; anthers introrse. Style short; stigma 3-lobed. Berry spherical, 3-celled; the cells 2-seeded.--Perennials, with much-branched stems from thick and matted rootstocks, and small greenish-yellow axillary flowers on jointed pedicels. The narrow, commonly thread-like, so-called leaves are really branchlets, acting as leaves, cl.u.s.tered in the axils of little scales which are the true leaves. (The ancient Greek name.)

A. OFFICINaLIS, L. (GARDEN ASPARAGUS.) Herbaceous, tall, bushy-branched; leaves thread-like.--A frequent escape from gardens. June. (Adv. from Eu.)

13. SMILACNA, Desf. FALSE SOLOMON'S SEAL.

Perianth 6-parted, spreading, withering-persistent (white). Stamens 6, inserted at the base of the divisions; filaments slender, anthers short, introrse. Ovary 3-celled, with 2 ovules in each cell; style short and thick, stigma obscurely 3-lobed. Berry globular, 1--2-seeded.--Perennial herbs, with simple stems from creeping or thickish rootstocks, alternate nerved mostly sessile leaves, and white, sometimes fragrant flowers in a terminal and simple or compound raceme. (Name a diminutive of _Smilax_, to which, however, these plants bear little resemblance.)

[*] _Flowers on very short pedicels in a terminal racemose panicle; stamens exceeding the small (1" long) segments; ovules collateral; rootstock stout, fleshy._

1. S. racemsa, Desf. (FALSE SPIKENARD.) Minutely downy (1--3 high); leaves numerous, oblong or oval-lanceolate, taper-pointed, ciliate, abruptly somewhat petioled; berries pale red, speckled with purple, aromatic.--Moist copses, N. Brunswick to S. C., west to Minn., E. Kan.

and Ark.

[*][*] _Flowers larger (2--3" long), on solitary pedicels in a simple few-flowered raceme; stamens included; ovules not collateral; rootstock rather slender._

2. S. stellata, Desf. Plant (1 high or less) nearly glabrous, or the 7--12 _oblong-lanceolate leaves_ minutely downy beneath when young, slightly clasping; raceme sessile or nearly so; _berries blackish_.--Moist banks, Lab. to N. J., west to E. Kan., Minn., and westward. (Eu.)

3. S. triflia, Desf. Glabrous, _dwarf_ (2--6' high); _leaves 3_ (sometimes 2 or 4), oblong, tapering to a _sheathing base_; raceme peduncled; _berries red_.--Cold bogs, Lab. to N. Eng., west to Mich. and Min. (Sib.)

14. MAIaNTHEMUM, Wigg.

Perianth 4-parted, with as many stamens. Ovary 2-celled; stigma 2-lobed.

Otherwise as in Smilacina.--Flowers solitary or fascicled, in a simple raceme upon a low 2--3-leaved stem. Leaves ovate- to lanceolate-cordate.

(Name from _Maius_, May, and ???e??, _a flower_.)

1. M. Canadense, Desf. p.u.b.escent or glabrous (3--5' high); leaves lanceolate to ovate, cordate at base with a very narrow sinus, sessile or very shortly petioled; perianth-segments 1" long. (Smilacina bifolia, var. Canadensis, _Gray_.)--Moist woods, Lab. to N. C., west to Minn. and Iowa. May.

15. STRePTOPUS, Michx. TWISTED-STALK.

Perianth recurved-spreading from a bell-shaped base, deciduous; the 6 distinct sepals lanceolate, acute, the 3 inner keeled. Anthers arrow-shaped, extrorse, fixed near the base to the short flattened filaments, tapering above to a slender entire or 2-cleft point. Ovary with many ovules in each cell; style and sometimes the stigmas one.

Berry red, roundish-ovoid, many-seeded.--Herbs, with rather stout stems from a creeping rootstock, forking and divergent branches, ovate and taper-pointed rounded-clasping membranaceous leaves, and small (extra-) axillary flowers, either solitary or in pairs, on slender thread-like peduncles, which are abruptly bent or contorted near the middle (whence the name, from st?ept??, _twisted_, and p???, _foot_ or _stalk_).

1. S. amplexiflius, DC. Stem 2--3 high, glabrous; _leaves very smooth, glaucous underneath_, strongly clasping; _flower greenish-white_ (4--6"

long) on a long abruptly bent peduncle; anthers tapering to a slender entire point; _stigma entire, truncate_.--Cold moist woods, N. Eng. to N. Minn., south to Ohio, Penn., and in the mountains to N. C. June.

(Eu.)

2. S. rseus, Michx. _Lower leaves green both sides, finely ciliate_, and the branches sparingly beset with short bristly hairs; _flower rose-purple_ (3--4" long), more than half the length of the slightly bent peduncle; anthers 2-horned; _stigma 3-cleft_.--Cold damp woods, N.

Eng. to N. Minn., and south in the mountains to Ga. May.

16. DiSPORUM, Salisb.

Perianth narrowly bell-shaped, the 6 sepals lanceolate or linear, deciduous. Filaments thread-like, much longer than the linear-oblong blunt anthers, which are fixed by a point above the base and extrorse.

Ovary with 2 ovules (in our species) suspended from the summit of each cell; style one; stigmas short, recurved-spreading, or sometimes united into one! Berry ovoid or oblong, pointed, 3--6-seeded, red.--Downy low herbs, with creeping rootstocks, erect stems sparingly branched above, with closely sessile ovate thin and transversely veined leaves, and greenish-yellow drooping flowers, on slender terminal peduncles, solitary or few in an umbel. (Name from d??, _double_, and sp???, _seed_, in allusion to the 2 ovules in each cell.)

1. D. lanuginsum, Benth. & Hook. Leaves ovate-oblong, taper-pointed, rounded or slightly heart-shaped at base, closely sessile, downy beneath; flowers solitary, [or] in pairs; sepals linear-lanceolate, taper-pointed (' long), soon spreading, twice the length of the stamens, greenish; style smooth; stigmas 3. (Prosartes lanuginosa, _Don._)--Rich woods, western N. Y. to Va. and Ga., west to Ky. and Tenn. May.

17. CLINTNIA, Raf.

Perianth of 6 separate sepals, bell-shaped, lily-like, deciduous; the 6 stamens inserted at their base. Filaments long and thread-like; anthers linear or oblong, extrorsely fixed by a point above the base, the cells opening down the margins. Ovary ovoid-oblong, 2--3-celled; style long; stigmas 2 or 3, or in ours united into one. Berry few--many-seeded.--Short-stemmed perennials, with slender creeping rootstocks, bearing a naked peduncle sheathed at the base by the stalks of 2--4 large oblong or oval ciliate leaves; flowers rather large, umbelled, rarely single. (Dedicated to _De Witt Clinton._)

1. C. borealis, Raf. Scape and leaves 5--8' long; _umbel 3--6-flowered_; perianth greenish-yellow, somewhat downy outside (3--4" long); berry ovoid, blue; _ovules 20 or more_.--Cold moist woods, Lab. to N. C., west to Minn.

2. C. umbellata, Torr. Flowers half the size of the last, white, speckled with green or purplish dots; _umbel many-flowered_; berry globular, black; _ovules 2 in each cell_.--Rich woods, in the Alleghanies from N. Y. to Ga.

18. UVULaRIA, L. BELLWORT.

Perianth narrowly bell-shaped, lily-like, deciduous; the 6 distinct sepals spatulate-lanceolate, ac.u.minate, obtusely gibbous at base, with a deep honey-bearing groove within bordered on each side by a callus-like ridge. Stamens much shorter, barely adherent to their base; anthers linear, much longer than the filaments, adnate and extrorse, but the long narrow cells opening laterally. Style deeply 3-cleft; the divisions stigmatic along the inner side. Capsule truncate, coriaceous, 3-lobed, loculicidal at the summit. Seeds few in each cell, obovoid, with a thin white aril.--Stems rather low, terete, from a short rootstock with fleshy roots, naked or scaly at base, forking above, bearing oblong perfoliate flat and membranaceous leaves with smooth margins, and yellowish drooping flowers, in spring, solitary on terminal peduncles. (Name "from the flowers hanging like the _uvula_, or palate.")

1. U. perfoliata, L. _Glaucous throughout_, --1 high, with 1--3 leaves below the fork; _leaves glabrous_, oblong- to ovate-lanceolate, acute; _perianth-segments granular-p.u.b.escent within_ (8--16" long); _stamens shorter than the styles; tip of the connective ac.u.minate_; cells of the capsule with 2 dorsal ridges and 2-beaked at the apex.--Rich woods, N. Eng. to Dak., and southward.

2. U. grandiflra, Smith. Yellowish-green, _not glaucous_; stem naked or with a single leaf below the fork; _leaves whitish-p.u.b.escent beneath_, usually somewhat ac.u.minate; _perianth-segments smooth within_ or nearly so (12--18" long); _stamens exceeding the styles, obtusely tipped_; capsule obtusely lobed. (U. flava, _Smith_.)--Rich woods, Canada to Ga., west to Minn. and Mo.

19. OAKeSIA, Watson.

Flowers resembling those of Uvularia, but the segments obtuse or acutish, carinately gibbous and without ridges within. Capsule membranous, elliptical, acutish at each end or shortly stipitate, triquetrous and acutely winged, very tardily dehiscent. Seeds globose, with a very tumid spongy rhaphe.--Stem acutely angled, from a slender creeping rootstock, with sessile clasping leaves scabrous on the margin, and 1 or 2 flowers terminal on slender peduncles but soon appearing opposite to the leaves by the growth of the branches. (Dedicated to _William Oakes_.)

1. O. sessiliflia, Watson. Leaves lance-oblong, acute at each end, pale, glaucous beneath, sessile or partly clasping; sepals 7--12" long; anthers obtuse; capsule short-stipitate, 6--10" long. (Uvularia sessilifolia, _L._)--Low woods, N. Brunswick to Fla., west to Minn., Neb. and Ark.

2. O. p.u.b.erula, Watson. Slightly p.u.b.erulent; leaves bright green both sides and shining, oval, mostly rounded at base, with rougher edges; styles separate to near the base, not exceeding the acute anthers; capsule not stipitate, 10--12" long. (Uvularia p.u.b.erula, _Michx._)--Mountains, Va. to S. C.

20. ERYTHRNIUM, L. DOG'S-TOOTH VIOLET.

Perianth lily-like, of 6 distinct lanceolate sepals, recurved or spreading above, deciduous, the 3 inner usually with a callous tooth on each side of the erect base, and a groove in the middle. Filaments 6', awl-shaped; anthers oblong-linear, continuing erect. Style elongated.

Capsule obovate, contracted at base, 3-valved, loculicidal. Seeds rather numerous, ovoid, with a loose membranaceous tip.--Nearly stemless herbs, with two smooth and shining flat leaves tapering into petioles and sheathing the base of the commonly one-flowered scape, rising from a deep solid-scaly bulb. Flowers rather large, nodding, in spring. (The Greek name for the purple-flowered European species, from ???????, _red_.)

1. E. Americanum, Ker. (YELLOW ADDER'S-TONGUE.) Scape 6--9' high; leaves elliptical-lanceolate, pale green, mottled with purplish and whitish and commonly minutely dotted; _perianth light yellow_, often spotted near the base (10--20" long); style club-shaped; _stigmas united_.--Rich ground, N. Brunswick to Fla., west to Minn. and Ark.

2. E. albidum, Nutt. (WHITE DOG'S-TOOTH VIOLET.) Leaves elliptical-lanceolate, less or not at all spotted; _perianth pinkish-white_; inner divisions toothless; style more slender except at the apex, bearing 3 short _spreading stigmas_.--Rich ground, N. Y. to N. J., west to Minn. and Kan.

3. E. propullans, Gray. _Offshoot arising from the stem, near the middle_; leaves smaller and more ac.u.minate; _flowers bright rose-color_, yellowish at base (6" long); _style slender; stigmas united_.--In rich soil, Minn. and Ont.

21. LiLIUM, L. LILY.

Perianth funnel-form or bell-shaped, colored, of 6 distinct sepals, spreading or recurved above, with a honey-bearing furrow at the base, deciduous; the 6 stamens somewhat adhering to their bases. Anthers linear, extrorsely attached near the middle to the tapering apex of the long filament, which is at first included, at length versatile; the cells dehiscent by a lateral or slightly introrse line. Style elongated, somewhat club-shaped; stigma 3-lobed. Capsule oblong, containing numerous flat and horizontal (depressed) soft-coated seeds densely packed in 2 rows in each cell. Bulbs scaly, producing simple stems, with numerous alternate-scattered or whorled narrow sessile leaves, and from one to several large and showy flowers; in summer. (The cla.s.sical Latin name, from the Greek ?e?????.)