FLOWERING PLANTS OF THE SEA-SIDE 403 



loid, though it is occasionally also absent ; the Gamopetalce, in 

 which the petals are united ; and the Polypetalce, in which the petals 

 are always distinct. 



Dealing with these divisions in the above order we come first to 

 the Spurges, three species of which occur on sandy shores. They 

 belong to the order Euphorbiacece, which includes, in addition to 

 the spurges, a number of herbs, trees, and shrubs with entire leaves 

 often a milky juice, and small flowers, sometimes enclosed in calyx- 

 like bracts. The flowers may have one or several stamens, and the 

 perianth, if present, consists of three or four parts ; but perhaps the 

 best distinguishing feature of the order is the nature of the fruit, 

 which separates elastically into three carpels. 



The Sea Spurge (Euphorbia Paralias) is 

 commonly seen on sandy shores, where its 

 yellow flowers bloom in late summer and in 

 autumn. It may be distinguished among the 

 numerous species of the genus by its narrow 

 oblong imbricated leaves, of a tough leathery 

 nature, the broad heart-shaped bracts, and 

 the wrinkled capsules containing smooth seeds. 

 The Portland Spurge (E. portlandica) is a 

 similar plant, found in similar situations, and Fl0 ' 2 ^ )- " 

 flowering from May to September. Its leaves 

 are oval and narrow, obtuse, and of a glau- 

 cous colour, and the bracts are more triangular than those of the 

 last species. The capsules are slightly rough, as are also the seeds. 

 There is yet another sea-side spurge the Purple Spurge (E.peplis) 

 a somewhat rare plant, found on some of the sandy shores of the 

 south of England. It grows to about eight or nine inches in length, 

 and blooms in late summer, the flowers, like those of most of the 

 spurges, being yellow. The stem is of a glaucous colour, and trails 

 along the ground ; the leaves are opposite and somewhat heart- 

 shaped, and the flowers solitary. This species may be distinguished 

 from other spurges by its stipuled leaves 



On sandy cliffs we sometimes meet with the Sea Buckthorn 

 (Hippophae rhamnoides) a spiny shrub, ranging from about two 

 to seven feet in height, the bark of which is covered with a silvery 

 scaly scurf that forms a beautiful object for the microscope. It is 

 the British representative of the Oleasters (order Eleagnacece). 

 The leaves are alternate, lanceolate, with a silvery surface ; and 

 the flowers are small, green and unisexual. The male flowers grow 



