# ? % : ‘ 
Portulaca.) =. p PORTULACER (Sond) —~ 381 
; : ae 
Orper LIV. PORTULACEA, Juss. 
' (By W. Sonpzr.) o 
«Flowers perfect,regular. Calys free, or nearly so, deciduous or persis- 
tent, 2-leaved, the sepals imbricate, sometimes colouréd ‘within. Petals 
4-6, inserted in the base ofthe calyx, free or partially connate, very 
delicate, quickly twisting together, and*Uissolving iu decay. Stamens 
mostly definite, as many, or 2-4 ‘times as many as the petals, rarely 
more, the outermost opposite the petals and attached to their claws ; 
filaments subulate ; anthers 2-celled, introrse. Ovary sessile, free, 
one-celled, of 3 or more carpels; ovules amphitropaly rarely solitary, 
inserted by long cords ona free central placenta; style terminal or 
none; stigmata as many as the carpels, linear, rarely confluent and 
capitate, Frwit usually a dehiscent capsule ; rarely indehiscent and 
nutlike. Seeds lenticular or reniform, with floury albumen. Hmbryo 
eccentric, curved round the margin of the seed, the radicle next the 
hilum. 
Mostly herbaceous, rarely suffruticose or shrubby plants, very generally with more 
or less succulent foliage and stems. Leaves alternate or sub-opposite, quite simple 
or entire, one-nerved or nerveless, without lateral veins, sessile or short-stalked. 
Stipules none or membranous, often lacerated. Flowers in terminal or axillary 
cymes, sometimes racemose or tufted ; rarely solitary. Natives usually of the 
temperate and colder zones, in all parts of the world. None are of much use. 
Portulaca oleracea is a potherb, and many others may be similarly used : all are 
innoxious. Some have esculent fleshy roots, as Claytonia tuberosa of Siberia. 
TABLE OF THE SOUTH AFRICAN GENERA. 
I. Portulaca.— Capsule circumscissile, one-celled ; seeds numerous. I~ < 
II. Anacampseros.—Capsule 3-valved, dehiscing longitudinally ; valves often bifid. ) ~~ 
8 7 i 
Seed: 1, numerous. 
II. — Capsule 3-valved, dehiscing longitudinally. Seeds wingless, nume- » « / 
rous. ' Bo P bs 
IV. Portulacaria.—Frwit 3-winged, indehiscent, r-seeded.e @ o-2. 
“ I. PORTULACA, Tournef. . 
Calye bipartite, the tube cohering with the ovary below. Petals 
4-6, with the 8-20 stamens inserted on the calyx, fugacious. Ovary 
roundish. Style 3-8 parted. Capsule subglobgsm 1-celled, dehiscing 
transversely about the middle. Seeds num fixed to a central 
placenta. DC. l. c. Endl. gen. n. 5174 —_ 
Low, herbaceous, fleshy herbs, with scattered quite entire leaves, Name from 
porto to carry, and lac, milk ; plants milky. 
TABLE OF SOUTH AFRICAN SPECIES. 
Flowers yellow. Axils of the leaves naked =... ..._ ...._ (1) oleracea. 
Flowers yellow. Acxils of the leaves and joints hairy ... (2) quadrifida. 
Flowers purple. Ax<ils of the leaves and joints hairy ... (3) pilosa. 
1. P. oleracea (Linn. Spec. 638); annual, diffuse, very smooth; = 
leaves obovate or cuneiform ; flowers sessile ; sepals keeled ; petals 5; = 
stamens 7-12 ; style 5-partite. DC. Pl. Grass. t. 123. Schkuhr, Handb. 
t. 130. P. oleracea et sativa, Haw, : ee ; 
wn Cultivated and waste grounds, “ Common Purslane,” Aug.—Jan. (Herb. — Rawhuns 
sd. &e. eae 
