Paris
(from par, equal; alluding to the regularity of the parts). ORD. Liliaceoe. Of this genus, about half-a-dozen species have been proposed; but not more than three or four are sufficiently distinct for that rank. They are hardy perennial herbs, with creeping rhizomes, natives of Europe and temperate and mountainous Asia. Flowers green, erect, solitary, pedicellate; perianth persistent, with distinct segments in series of four to six. Leaves four or many, whorled at the apex of the stem, sessile or petiolate, lanceolate or ovate, slenderly three-nerved and reticulate-venulose. Stem simple. P. polyphylla and P. quadrifolia are the only species which call for description here. The leaves and stems of the latter were formerly employed in medicine, and the juice of the berry has been used to cure inflammation of the eyes. They thrive in light sandy loam, in a shaded situation. Propagated by divisions, or by seeds.
P. polyphylla (many-leaved). fl. pedicellate; sepals greenish, four to six, leafy, ovate-lanceolate; petals yellow, four to six, filiform; stamens four to ten. May. fr. brilliant scarlet. l. four to nine in a whorl, petiolate, linear or oblong-lanceolate, acuminate, rounded or acute at base. h. 3in. to 2 1/2ft. Himalayas, 1826. (I. H. Pl. 24.) P. quadrifolia (four-leaved). Herb-Paris; True Love. fl., perianth yellowish-green, the four outer segments about 1in. long, the four inner ones rather more yellow; peduncle rising to 1in. or 2in. above the leaves. Spring or early summer. fr. bluish-black. l. four, broadly ovate or obovate, 2in. to 4in. long. Stem 9in. to 12in. high. Europe (Britain), Russian Asia, &c. "Sometimes, but rarely, there is a fifth leaf, with the addition of a fifth to each of the parts of the flower" (Bentham). (Sy. En. B. 1509.)