118 AIZOACEAE 



adnate below to the ovary. Calyx -lobes 5, usually horned on the back near the apex. 

 Petals none. Stamens 1 to many, perigynous, sometimes slightly united into phalanges. 

 Ovary half superior, 3-5-celled, with as many styles. Capsule membranaceous, 3-5-celled, 

 ovoid, circumscissile at the middle. Seeds several or many in each cell, minute, smooth. 

 [Etymology of the name uncertain.] 



Five species, widely distributed but mainly maritime. Type species, Sesuvium Portulacastrum L. 



1. Sesuvium sessile Pers. Western Sea Purslane. Fig. 1607. 



Sesuvium sessile Pers. Syn. PI. 2: 39. 1807. 



A glabrous and fleshy annual, the stems much branched, prostrate or ascending. Leaves 

 broadly spatulate or linear, 1-4 cm. long; flowers sessile or nearly so, 6-12 mm. wide; calyx- 

 lobes ovate-lanceolate, 6 mm. long, scarious-margined, short-horned near the apex ; stamens 

 numerous, filaments red, united below ; capsule about equaling the calyx. 



Low saline soils, Sonoran Zones; Sacramento Valley, California, to Lower California, east to Utah, Kansas, 

 Texas, and northern Mexico; also southern Brazil. Type locality: not stated. May-Nov. 



6. TETRAGONIA L. Sp. PI. 480. 1753. 



Fleshy annual or perennial herbs or undershrubs, with alternate leaves and no 

 stipules. Flowers axillary and terminal. Calyx-tube becoming adnate to the ovary, 

 fleshy; the lobes or teeth usually 4, connivent after anthesis. Stamens one to many, perig- 

 ynous, sometimes more or less united at the base into phalanges. Ovary at length wholly 

 inferior, 3-9-celled; styles as many as the cells; ovules 1 in each cell. Fruit a somewhat 

 4-6-horned, hard nut. Seeds solitary and pendant in the indehiscent cell ; embryo horse- 

 shoe-shaped. [Name Greek, meaning four and knee or angle, in reference to the fruit.] 



A genus of about 60 species of the southern hemisphere, chiefly South Africa, and of littoral habitat. Type 

 species, Tetragonia fruticosa L. 



1. Tetragonia expansa Murr. New Zealand Spinach. Fig. 1608. 



Tetragonia expansa Murr. Commentat. Gott. 6: 13. 1785. 



Succulent annual with procumbent or spreading branches, covered with glistening fleshy 

 papillae. Leaves deltoid-ovate, abruptly contracted to a broad petiole; flowers axillary and 

 usually solitary, subsessile; calyx-tube urceolate, the lobes triangular, 1.5-2.5 mm. long, yel- 

 lowish on the inner surface ; stamens 7-13 ; ovary 5-9-celled ; styles 3 or more ; nut angled, 8-10 

 mm. broad, 2-5-horned. 



Seacoast, on cliffs, sandy beaches and ballast. Portland, San Francisco, and Monterey. Native of New 

 Zealand and eastern Asia. April-Sept. 



7. MESEMBRYANTHEMUM L. Sp. PI. 480. 1753. 



Mostly very succulent annual or perennial herbs or shrubs, with opposite or alternate 

 leaves and no stipules. Flowers terminal or axillary, often showy. Calyx-tube adnate to 

 the ovary; the lobes 5, unequal, herbaceous. Petals numerous, linear. Stamens very 

 numerous, with slender filaments, inserted with the petals on the calyx-tube. Ovary 5-20- 

 celled; styles as many as the cells; ovules many in each cell. Capsule fleshy, dehiscing, 

 when wetted, at the depressed summit by stellate valves. Seeds minute, many. [Name 

 Greek, meaning mid-day and flower.] 



About 400 species, mostly African. Type species, Mesembryanthemum nodiflorum L. 



Leaves alternate; herbage covered with crystalline papillae; fruit a S-valved capsule, each valve with a broad 

 wing on each margin and a central keel. 



Leaves linear and nearly terete. L M. nodiflorum. 



Leaves flat, ovate to broadly spatulate. 2. M. crystallinum. 



Leaves opposite, 3-angled; herbage glabrous; fruit fleshy, indehiscent. 3. M. chilense. 



1. Mesembryanthemum nodiflorum L. Slender-leaved Ice-plant. Fig. 1609. 



Mesembryanthemum nodiflorum L. Sp. PI. 480. 1753. 

 Cryophytum nodiflorum L. Bolus. S. Afr. Gard. 17: 326. 1926. 



Annual, covered with colorless shining papulae, the stems branched from the base, ascending 

 or prostrate, 5-20 cm. long. Leaves alternate, terete, 10-25 mm. long, scarcely 2 mm. thick; 

 flowers solitary in the axils, short-pedicelled, about 1 cm. broad ; petals white ; ovary 5-celled. 



Bluffs or low ground along the seashore; Los Angeles County, Santa Catalina and San Clemente Islands, to 

 Lower California; also South Africa and the Mediterranean region. The three indigenous species here described 

 were probably introduced into California by natural means before the advent of white men. April-Nov. 



2. Mesembryanthemum crystallinum L. Common Ice-plant. Fig. 1610. 



Mesembryanthemum crystallinum L. Sp. PI. 480. 1753. 



Cryophytum crystallinum N. E. Brown ex E. P. Phillips, Gen. Afr. PI. 245. 1926. 



Fleshy annual, densely covered with transparent shining papulae, the stems dichotomously 

 branched, prostrate, 2-4 dm. long. Leaves flat, broadly ovate or spatulate, 2-4 cm. long, undulate, 



