THE AMERICAN BOTANIST 133 



(Scrophulariaceae), a small genus of tropical East Asia and 

 Australia, represented in the Islands by M. riigosus Lour, 

 apparently introduced as a weed from China. 



Oddly enough, this last-named species, which is a great 

 traveller, seems to have found its way to the Westenv shores 

 of the United States. It has been collected recently by JNJr. 

 M. W. Gorman on mud-flats along the W'illiamettc I\!ver in 

 the city of Portland, Oregon, and seems to have established 

 itself in considerable abundance. There is thus an additional 

 reason why the name of Loureiro should be something more 

 to us than an odd abbreviation in the front pages of our man- 

 uals. 



THE BLOOMING OF PORTULACA 



By NeIvL McMurray. 



AT dusk portulaca leaves all push up close to the thick stem. 

 Early in the morning these fleshy spike-like leaves spread 

 for the day while tinted points at the tip of the stems and 

 branches tell us the number and color of the blossoms which 

 we are to enjoy at midday. Visiting bees are apt to arrive 

 and try to enter before they can. At nine o'clock perhaps one 

 bud has loosened sufficiently for a first guest to crawl in; at 

 ten o'clock the exceedingly bright corollas are all open. The 

 petals are heart-shaped and of various shades of red, pink, 

 yellow, and white. They may be pink with red stripes; they 

 may be white with a purple spot at base of each ; or white with 

 green basal spots. The base of each petal is white, making 

 an "eyed" corolla. 



The stamens in the heart of the flower are ripe and full 

 of pollen when the petals spread. The filaments are thread- 

 like and red, pink, or white. A tiny brown bee is a persistent 



