FLOWERING PLANTS OF THE SEA-SIDE 405 



while in the latter the fruit is shorter than the calyx, in P. Ra/ii 

 it is longer. This species is found on many sandy shores, and 

 flowers in July and August. 



The order Chenopodiacece is particularly rich in sea-side plants, 

 more than a dozen of the British species growing almost exclusively 

 near the shore. They are mostly inconspicuous plants, with small 

 flowers which are sometimes unisexual. The perianth is deeply 

 divided, and the stamens are inserted in its base, opposite the 

 divisions. The ovary is free, containing a single ovule. 



The typical genus (Chenopodium) contains the weeds designated 

 by the name of Goosefoot, all characterised by their straggling 

 stems and small flat leaves. One species (C. botryoides) is common 

 on some sandy shores. It is a small weed, its prostrate stem 

 measuring only a few inches in length. 

 The leaves are triangular and fleshy, and 

 the flowers are arranged in dense leafy 

 clusters. A variety of the Bed Goose- 

 foot (C. rubrum) is also found on the 

 coast. It is of a reddish colour, with 

 rhomboid leaves and short crowded 

 spikes of flowers. 



On muddy shores we meet with 

 the Common Beet (Beta maritima), the 

 leaves of which are often cooked and 

 eaten where the plant is abundant ; and 

 it is this species from which the different 

 varieties of garden beet and mangold 

 wurzel have been produced by cultiva- 

 tion. There are two distinct varieties of the wild plant. In one 

 the root and leaves are of a purple colour, while in the other 

 they are of a yellowish green. The former has been cultivated for 

 its root, while the latter is sometimes grown for the leaves. In 

 the wild state it has many stems, the lower parts being more or 

 less procumbent, and the leaves are fleshy, gradually narrowing 

 down into the stalk. The flowers, which are arranged in long, 

 simple, leafy spikes, are bisexual, with a five-parted perianth, five 

 stamens inserted opposite each segment, in a fleshy ring and a 

 flattened one-celled ovary which develops into a one-seeded 

 utricle. 



In similar situations we meet with two species of Sea Purslane 

 (Obione), in which the flowers are unisexual, both male and female 



FIG. 292. Chenopodium 

 botryoides 



