470 CVIII. AMARANTHACE,^. Amaranthus. 



8. BETA. 

 Celtic bett, red ; the usual color of the beet. 



Calyx 5-sepaled ; sta. 5 ; styles 2, very short, erect, with acute stig- 

 mas ; seed reniform, imbedded in the fleshy calyx. — (i) Stems furrowed. 

 Lrs. alternate. Fls. glomerate^ green^ in spikes or paniculate racemes. 



1. B. VULGARIS. Common Beet. — Fls. in dense, sessile, axillary clusters ; loiccr 

 Irs. ovate ; rt. fleshy. — This useful culinary is said to grow wild in S. Europe. 

 Besides its use in salads, pickles, soups, &c., the beet yields sugar equal to that 

 of the cane. There are several varieties, of which the purple-leaved is the 

 most esteemed for the kitchen, and the green-leaved for extracting sugar. Aug. 



2. B. CiCLA. Scarcitn.—Lfs. with very thick veins; fls. 3 together; rts. 

 scarcely any. — Native of Portugal. Root leaves stalked, those of the stem ses- 

 sile. Flowers green, numerous, in very long spikes. A culinary plant, with 

 very large leaves, used as a salad, &c. Aug. 



/?. Mangcl-Wurtzel. Rt. yery large. — Cultivated as food for cattle, for which 

 purpose it'^is highly prized by many farmers. 



Order CVII. SCLERANTHACEiE.— Scleranths. 



Herbs small, inconspicuous, with opposite leaves, no stipules and minute, axillary, sessile flowers. 

 CaZ.— Tube urceolate, limb 4— 5-toothed. . . ,, 



Sta inserted on the calyx tube, and usually twice as many as its lobes. 

 Ova. 1, free, 1-seeded. Stytf^s 2 or l. Fr. a utricle, in ;he hardened calyx. 

 Seed pendulous from the apex of a funiculus which arises from base of cell. 

 Embryo curved around farinaceous albumen. 

 Genera 4, species 14, natives of the northern hemisphere. 



SCLERANTHUS. 

 Gr. GKKripos, hard, ai/S^oj, when in fruit, the floral envelope appears hard and dry. 



Calyx persistent, 5-cleft, the tube contracted at the orifice ; sta. 

 1 0, rarely 5 or 2 ; styles 2 ; utricle very smooth, enclosed in the calyx. 



S. ANNL'us. Coynmon Knaicel. 



SI. spreading, slightly pubescent; sta. 10; cat. of the fr. with acute, spread- 

 ing segments. — (i) weed in dn,^ fields and roadsides, N. Eng. and Mid. States. 

 Stems numerous, branching, "decumbent, short, ending with leafy clusters of 

 sessile,green flowers. The leaves are numerous, linear, acute, short, opposite, 

 partially imited at their basis. Fls. very small, green, in axillary fascicles. Jl. 



Order CYIII. AMARANTHACE^.— Amaranths. 



Herbs or shrubs, with opposite or alternate leaves, without stipules. 



F.s. in heads or spikes usually colored, generally perfect. 



C,j/ —Sepals 3-5, dry and scarious, persistent, eenerally with dry, colored bracts. 



Sla. 5 or some multiple of 5, distinct or monadelphous, hypogjnous. 



Oi^a. 1, free, l or few-ovuled. Style l or none. Stisma. simple or compound. 



Fr. a utricle. Seeds pendulous. Embryo curved around farinaceous albiunen. 



Genera 33, species 282, most abundant in warm latitudes. A few of them are cultivated for their richly 

 colored, imperishable flowers. Others are mere weeds. 



Conspectus of the Genera. 



f^ Rachis terete or furrowed Amaranthus. \ 



alternate. \ Rachis broad, flat and crest-form. Ce.losia. 5 



^ Flowers paniculate Iresine. 2 



^ Bracts whitish or greenish. I Flowers spicate Oplotheca. 3 



opposite. ( Bracts crimson. Flowers capitate Goniphrena. 4 



1. AMARANTHUS. 



Gr. a, not, fiapaiiw, to wither; the flowers of some of the species are imperishable. 



Fls. cf 9 ; calyx deeply 3 — 5-parted, mostly colored, persistent ; 

 segments lanceolate, acute, c? Stamens 3 — 5. 9 Styles 2 — 3 ; cap- 

 sule 1 -celled, circumscissile ; seed 1. — (X)Herbs with alternate leaves. 

 Fls. in axillary and terminal clusters., rarely scattered. 



* Flowers triandro^is. 

 1. A. ALBus. WJiilc Cock^s-co^nb. 

 St. obtusely angular ; lis. obovate, retuse; Jls. triandrous, in small, axillary 



