94 



FAMILIES OF FLOWERING PLANTS 



Pig. 76. Flowering branch of 

 buckwheat (Fagopyriim Fagopy- 

 ruin), with enlarged flower and 

 fruit. Original. 



sons, is the product of Fagopyruin Fagopyrum, a member of tliis family, 

 illustrated iu Fig. 76. The plant, originally a native of Asia, is grown 



extensively in some parts of the United States 

 and on the continent of Europe, whence it 

 has escaped frequently and become estab- 

 lished in a lialf-wild state. Buckwheat flour, 

 although less nutritious than wheat, is greatly 

 superior in this respect to rice. Another 

 polj'gonaceous food-plant of considerable im- 

 portance is the rhubarb {Rheum Rliaioonti- 

 cum). As we are familiar with it in gardens, 

 it is a tall herb with enormous basal leaves, 

 whose thick juicy stems furnish a most appe- 

 tizing sa-uce, and filling for pies. Like Bu- 

 mex, it contains a very powerful acid prin- 

 ciple, upon which its value as an article of 

 food cliiedy depends. The genus Rheum is 

 native of eastern Europe and Asia, several of 

 the species being described by travelers as 

 very imposing features of the landscape, par- 

 ticularly in dry waste regions of the Hima- 

 layas. 



There are several ornamental plants of the family, the most famil- 

 iar in greenhouses being the vine Antigonon 

 leptopus, the large inflated calyces of wdiich are 

 bright red in color, and retain their beauty on 

 the plant for some time. Bruuitichia, a native 

 shrubby vine of the southern States is also 

 worthy of cultivation, although the flowers are 

 not brilliantly colored. The prince's feather 

 {Polygonum orientale) is a favorite in gardens. 



Family Chenopodiaceae. Goosefoot Fam- 

 ily. Contains about 75 genera and 550 species, 

 of wide geographic distribution. The goose- 

 foots, or pigweeds, as they are often called, are 

 herbs or rarely shrubs, ha\'ing simple leaves 

 entirely without stipules. The flowers are per- 

 fect or bisexual, usually greenish in color, vari- 

 ously clustered. The perianth consists only of Fig. 77. uppermost Une, 

 a caiyx, which is persistent, investing the fruit, lyged flower and section of fruit 



'' ■ _ . , . of Llioiopodnim ; second line, 



The latter is known as a utricle, being a flower and fruit of .-i7«araK///?<i-, 

 grain with several enveloping paperv coatings, showing the circnmscissiie utri- 



" . . T-,'. _ .„ cle ; lowermost line, flower and 



The two uppermost drawings in Fig. 77 will Ivm^oi Phytolacca, original. 



i=-M.T;'U-. 



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