466 



CVI. CHENOPODIACEiE. 



Salicornia. 



base of the stem. Calyx dull purple, of a leather}^ texture, tubular, bent almost 

 double, gibbous at the base and at the angle, limb 2-lipped, upper lip 2-lobed. 

 Capsule obovate, 6-angied, 6 — 9" long, with numerous small seeds. June. — 

 The dried root is a valuable stimulant, diaphoretic and tonic, containing cam- 

 phor. It has a warm, bitter, pungent taste. 



2. A. SiPHO. L'Her. Dxdchman's pipe. 



St. twining, shrubby; lis. ample, suborbicular, cordate, entire, acute, 

 petiolate; ped. 1-flowered, furnished with a single, ovate bract; cal. tube bent, 

 ascending, limb 3-cleft, equal. — A vigorous climber in mountainous woods. 

 Western Penn. to Ky. and S. States. St. woody, twining, and ascending trees 

 30 or 40f Leaves fr— 12' diam., alternate, sprinkled with soft hairs. Flowers 

 solitary, the tube long and bent at nearly a right angle, in the form of a (siphon 

 or) tobacco pipe, and of a dull brown color. It is highly ornamental in culti- 

 vation, for arbors. Jime. f 



Order CVI. CHENOPODIACE^.— Chexopods. 



Herls OT tmdershrubs, with alternate (rarely opposite) leaves without stipules. 



Fts. inconspicuous, generally perfect, often dioecious or polygamous. 



Cat deeply divided often tubular at base, imbricate in sstivation. 



Sta from the base of the calyx, as many as its lobes or fewer, and opposite to them. 



Ova. 1, with I ovule attached to its ba^se withui. Styles 2—4, rarely 1. 



Pr. a utricle. Embryo usually curve<l around fleshy albumen. 



Genera 63, species 360, often maritime plants, and more generally weeds, abounding in the northern 

 temperate zone. 



Properties.— Some, are useful for food, as the leet, mangeJ-u'iirtzel, orache. spinach, ^c. Others con- 

 toin an essential oil, which renders them tonic, antispasmodic and anthelmintic ; as Chenopodiiim 

 botrys, C. ambrosioides, C. anthelminticum ; the latter yields the officinal worm-seed oil. Salsoli, Sali- 

 cornia and other sea-side species yield soda from their ashes in great abundance. 



FIG 52—1. Flower of Chenopodium album. 2. Calyx, &c., removed, showing the ovaiy and two 

 (hypogynous) stamens. 3. Cross section of the seed, shov^nig the coiled ernbrya 4. Branch of salicor- 

 nia herbacea. 5. Two joints magnified. 

 the fleshy cab'x. 



6. Ovary of a flower. 7. Flower of Blitum capitatum, with 

 Vertical section of the ovary. 9. Flower of Beta vulgaris. 

 Conspectus of tlic Genera. 



Fruit partly invested ^ Seed lenticular. 



in calyx \ Seed rcnifbrm. 



Stamens 5. . ( Fr. w holly invested in cal. Lvs. subulate 

 \ Styles 1. Leafless plants 



s- 



fall perfect. ( Stamens 1—2 i! Styles 2. Leafy plants. 

 J dicpcious. \ Stigmas sessile. Leaves ovate-lanceolate. 



' Stig. on capillary styles. Lvs. hastate-lanceolate. 



Chenopodium. 



Beta. 



Salsola. 



SaHcomia. 



Blitum. 



Acnida. 



Spinacia. 



Atriplex. 



Flowers L polygamous. Stamens 5. 



1. SALICORNIA. 



Lat. sal, salt, cornu, horn ; in allusion both to its locality and appearance. 



Calyx turbinate, fleshy, closed, entire: sta. 1 — 2; style 1, bifid ; 

 utricle invested in the calyx, 1 -seeded. — Salt marsh herbs^ rarely 

 shrubby^ destitute of leaves. 



1. S. HERB.ACEA. (S. mucronata '? Bw.) Herbaceous Samphire or Saltxcort. 



St. erect, herbaceous, spreading; ^m^.s compres.sed; internodes dilated 

 upwards, truncated; branches numerous, opposite, light green, jointed, succu- 

 lent, smooth, terminating in a spike ; spikes lateral and terminal, tapering 

 upwards ; fls. small, sessile, about three on each side of the ba.se of every 

 joint.— A leafless plant with .succulent and jointed branches, about a foot high, 

 growing abundantly on sea shores and salt marshes, N. Eng. ! to Ga. ; also at 

 Salina,"N. York. This and other .species are said to make a good pickle for 

 the table. When burned, its ashes yield .soda. Aug. 



