466 



CVl. CHENOPODIACE.E. 



Salicornia. 



base of the stem. Calyx dull purple, of a leathery texture, tubular, bent almost 

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

 Capsule obovate, 6-angled, 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. Dutchmcm^s ylpc. 



SI. twining, shrubby ; Ivs. ample, suborbicular, cordate, entire, acute, 

 petiolate; pcd. 1-flowered, lurni.shed 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 G — 12' diam., alternate, sprinkled with soil hairs. Flowers 

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

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

 vation, lor arbors. June, f 



Okder CVI. CHENOPODIACE.E.— Ciienopods. 



He>bs or nndershrnhs, with alternate (rarely opposite) lea\'es without stipules. 



F.s. inconspicuous, generally perfect, often dioecious or polygamous. 



Cal. deeply divided often tubular at base, imbricate in iBstivation. 



^ttt. from the base of the cylyx, as many as its lobes or tewer, and opposite to them. 



Ota. 1, with 1 ovule attached to its ba;se within. Htyies 2—4, rarely 1. 



Fr. a utiicle. Embryo usually curved around fleshy albumen. 



Genera 63, species 3S0, often maritime plants, and more generally weeds, abounding in the northern 

 temperate zone. 



Properties.— Some are useful for food, as the beet, man£-cl-ifiirtze!, orache, spivach. ^c. Others con- 

 tain an essential oil, which renders them tonic, antispasmodic and anthelmintic; us Chenoi odi;ira 

 botrys, C. ambrosioijes, C. antlielminticum ; the latter yields the officinal worm-seed oil. SabsoU, Huh- 

 coriiia and other seaside species yield soda from their ashes in great abiuidance. 



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

 (hvpogvnous) stamens. 3. Cross sec'ion of the seed, showing the coiled embryo. 4. Brancli of Salicor- 

 nia herbacea. 5. Two joints magnified. 6. Ovary of a flower. 7. Flower of Blitum capilatum, wilh 

 the fleshy calyx. 8. Vertical section of the ovary. 9. Flower of Beta vulgaris. 



Conspectus of the Genera. 



( Fruit partly invested ^ Seed lenticular. . . Clienopodium. 7 



< in calyx I Seed renitbrm. . . Beta. 8 



(Stamens 5. . ( Fr wholly inve.sted in cal. Lvs. subulate. . Salsota. 2 



< \ Styles 1. Leafless plants Salicnrnia. 1 



Call perfect. ( Stamens 1—2 ? Styles 2. Leafy plants Blitum. 6 



J dicpcious. j Stigmas sessile. Leaves ovate-lanceolate. .... Acnidn. 4 



I Stamu-ns 5 J Siig. on capillary styles. Lvs. hastate-lanceolate. . . . Spinacfa. 3 



Flowers L polygamous. Stamens 5 Atriplei. 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, I -seeded. — Salt marsh herbs, rarely 

 shrubby., destitute of leaves. 



1. S. HERBACEA. (S. mucronata 1 J5w.) Hcrbaccpus Samphire or Salticort . 



St. erect, herbaceous, spreading; joints compre.'^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 base 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. 



