AMARANTHACEAE 389 



axils : sepals acute : seed mostly vertical, barely 1 mm. broad, obscurely tuberculate. 

 \_Suaeda fruticosa var. multiflora Torr. ; suffruticosa S. Wats.] 

 On saline plains, Texas to southern California. Spring to fall. 



3. Dondia conf6rta Small. Perennial, shrubby. Stems erect or ascending, 4-10 dm. 

 long, the branches prostrate or spreading, forming dense tufts, glabrous : leaves numer- 

 ous, glabrous ; blades fleshy, oblong, mostly less tlian 1 cm. long, obtuse : flowers solitary 

 or clustered in the axils of the ratlier approximate leaves, esiiecially numerous on the 

 branchlets : sepals obtuse : seed about 1 mm. broad. 



Along the coast, Texas. Spring and summer. 



7. SALSOLA L. 



Annual or perennial herbs or shrubby plants. Stems bushy-branched. Leaves rigid : 

 blades narrow, entire, spine-tipped. Flowers perfect, solitary or several together in the 

 axils, accompanied by 2 bractlets. Sepals 5, appendaged with horizontal wings at ma- 

 turity. Stamens 5, or rarely fewer : filaments subulate or narrowly linear. Ovary 1-celled, 

 more or less depressed : styles 2. Utricle flattened, with a depressed or elevated top, en- 

 closed in the calyx. Seed mostly erect. Testa membranous. Endosperm wanting. 

 Embryo in the form of a spiral cone. Saltwort. 



1. Salsola Kali L. Annual, glabrous, or finely pubescent. Stems 2-6 dm. tall, 



erect or diffusely branched and spreading, the branches often striate and slightly ridged : 



leaves alternate ; blades subulate-lanceolate, 6-20 mm. long, entire, somewhat revolute at 



maturity, the midrib prolonged into a rigid yellow-green spine : flowers solitary in the 



axils, inconspicuous : calyx leathery, the surface smooth, the wing nearly orbicular, 4-8 



mm. in diameter, erose or lacerate at maturity : sepals erect or ascending, about as long 



as the wings. 



On sea beaches, Cape Breton Island to Florida and Mississippi. Also in Europe and Asia. Sum- 

 mer and fall. 



Family 2. SCLERANTHACEAE Lindl. Knawel Family. 



Annual or biennial herbs, with firm forking stems. Leaves opposite, with 

 united bases : blades subulate or narrow : stipules wanting. Flowers in small 

 clustered cymes. Hypanthium well developed, often exceeding the sepals in 

 length at maturity. Calyx of 5 or rarely 4 persistent awnless sepals. Androecium 

 of 1-10 included stamens inserted on the margin of the hypanthium. Gynoecium 

 of 2 united carpels. Ovary 1-celled. Styles 2. Ovule solitary, pendulous from 

 a basal funicle, amphitropous. Utricle included in the hypanthium. Seed 

 solitary. 



1. SCLERANTHUS L. 



Characters of the family. 



1. Scleranthus dnnuus L. Annual, slender, bright green. Stem more or less 

 branched at the base, the branches ascending or decumbent, 0.5-3 dm. long, forking, 

 pubescent with recurved hairs and somewhat viscid on one side : leaves opposite, with 

 connate bases ; blades linear-filiform, 0.5-1.5 cm. long, acute, sessile, ciliate : flowers in- 

 conspicuous, short-pedicelled or nearly sessile : hypanthium together with the calyx about 

 3 mm. long : sepals lanceolate or ovate-lanceolate, rather obtuse or acutish, hyaline-mar- 

 gined, slightly longer than the hypanthium during anthesis : utricle ovoid, nearly 1.5 mm. 

 long. 



In waste places, Quebec and Ontario to Florida. Naturalized from Europe. Spring to fall. 

 Knawel. German Knotgrass. 



Family 3. AMARANTHACEAE J. St. Hil. Amaranth Family. 



Coarse and weedy, often diffuse, annual or perennial herbaceous plants, or 

 sometimes shrubs or small trees. Leaves opposite or alternate, exstipulate : blades 

 simple, entire or nearly so. Inflorescence terminal or axillary, often congested. 

 Flowers rarely dioecious, inconspicuous, subtended by more or less imbricated 

 scarious various-colored bracts. Calyx scarious, herbaceous or corolloid, con- 

 sisting of 2-5 equal or unequal sepals. Stamens 5 or fewer, distinct or mono- 

 delphous, hypogynous, opposite the sepals. Sterile stamens (staminodia) when 



