PORTULACE^. 91 



and solitary, axillary, and terminal flowers ; petals purplish, con- 

 tract within the calyx towards mid-day ; roadsides ; June. A 

 native of Britain ; naturalized. 



A. lateriflora. L. Has a more erect stem, 4-8 inches high, 

 with white flowers ; wet, shaded places, June ; a native of 

 Britain, and probably of our country also. 



J. rubra. L. Common Sandwort, has small dehcate red 

 flowers on prostrate, branching stems ; roads ; July. 



A. marina. Sm. Sea Sandwort ; more succulent and fleshy 

 than the last. Salt marshes ; July ; often thought to be a variety 

 of S. rubra. 



A. peploides. L. Stem 8-12 inches high, smooth, fleshy, 

 pellucid, dichotomous ; leaves half-clasping, ovate, acute, fleshy, 

 opposite ; flowers nearly sessile, axillary, with white membrana- 

 ceous petals ; blossoms in May and June ; grows in large col- 

 lections, along the seashore sands ; Plumb Island, near Newbury- 

 port. Big., and some other places along the coast. 



ORDER 143. ELATINEiE. 



Only one species of this order is credited to North America, 

 viz. Crypta minima, Nutt. 2. 2. This plant has been found on 

 the Hudson near Albany, and along ponds about New Haven, 

 Connecticut, and widely over the country. It is difficult to de- 

 tect on account of its minuteness, as it lies flat on the ground, 

 and sends up branches only an inch or half inch high, with very 

 minute axillary flowers. It has lately been detected by the sides 

 of ponds in Plymouth County. Properties of the order unknown. 

 Elatine triandra, W., lately found in the eastern part of the State, 

 is probably the plant described by Nuttall. 



ORDER 144. PORTULACE^. The Purslane Tribe. 



Calyx of 2 sepals, rarely 3 or 5, united at the base ; petals 5, 

 rarely 3, 4, or 6, distinct, or in a short tube, or none ; stamens 



