The flower is smaller than the Bellwort blossom, and the 3-parted pale yellow pistil protrudes conspicuously. The color is pale straw-yellow. The bell hangs on a slender stem that springs from beneath a leaf, on the underside of the branch. Seldom more than one of these shy bells is found hiding under a branch. Possibly the tips curve outward more than those of the Bellwort’s flower. [Illustration: WILD OAT: Oakesia sessilifolia.] *Two-leaved Solomon’s Seal.* _Smilacina trifolia._ *False little Solomon’s Seal.* *Two-leaved Smilax.* Found in the woods during May. The stalk, which grows from 3 to 6 inches in height, is round, and grooved, and usually bears 2 leaves. Its color is pale green, sometimes tinged with dull red. The oval leaf is heart-shaped at the base where it partly clasps the stalk; the margin is entire, and the ribs are parallel, the texture is fine, and the surface is smooth and shining. In color, a light yellowish-green. Two or three leaves occur on the plant, alternately placed. The flower is quite small, and white, with 4 petal-like parts, 4 stamens, and 1 pistil. The flowers are fragrant, and very numerous, clustered in a short, close terminal spike. In common with others of the small Smilaxes the strong-fibred stem has a somewhat zigzag gesture. It looks an honest little plant, not at all deserving the opprobrious epithet, “false,” that has been given it. [Illustration: TWO-LEAVED SOLOMON’S SEAL: Smilacina trifolia.] *Solomon Zigzag.* _Smilacina racemosa._ *False Spikenard.* Found in June, in moist woods and brookside copses. The leafy stalk (from 1 to 2 feet high) is oblique and zigzag in gesture; it has a strong fibre, and a smooth surface, and is light green. The leaf is oval--long in proportion to its width,--tapering to a slender tip, with an entire and much ruffled margin, and 3 noticeable ribs; the surface is finely downy; the color a strong, vigorous green. The leaves have almost no stem at all, and are placed alternately along the stalk. The flower is small, with 6 petal-like parts and 6 stamens, all greenish white. Many flowers are gathered in a branching cluster upon the end of the leafy curving stalk. The berries are pale red, speckled with dark. Gray’s _Manual_ in speaking of this genus says its name is a diminution of _Smilax_, “to which, however, these plants bear little resemblance.” For a similar reason, perhaps, this plant is called “false” after the true Spikenard! [Illustration: SOLOMON ZIGZAG: S. racemosa.] *Carrion Flower.* _Smilax herbacea._ Found in moist meadows, along river banks, and in wayside thickets in June. The round, smooth, tough, green stalk grows upward at first, but soon swings over to one side with a strong curve, leaning on surrounding plants for support, and further assisting its progress by means of many small twining tendrils.