114 CHENOPODIACEAE. 



5, rarely 6 or 7, chartaceous, concave and carlnate. 

 Stamens 5, united at base into a narrow disk. Style 

 slender; stigmas 2. Achene beaked by the persistent 

 style. 



1. N. occidentalis (Moq.) Wats. Stems decumbent, oppositely 

 branched, 1-4 dm. long, arising from a deep taproot; leaves linear, 

 sessile 1-2.5 cm. long, the floral shorter, glabrous pungent at apex; 

 flowers solitary in the axils subtended by 2 bracts, or often 2 or 3, 

 the central bractless and the lateral pedicelled; sepals pinkish or 

 whitish, about 2.5 mm. long. 



In low alkaline soils. Santa Monica; Studebaker, Braunton: San 

 Bernardino Valley, Parish. 



2. APHANISMA Nutt. 



Slender glabrous annuals, with alternate sessile entire 

 leaves, and axillary mostly solitary perfect bractless 

 flowers. Calyx 3 -cleft, with concave segments un- 

 changed in fruit. Stamen 1 ; filament short. Ovary 

 depressed; style shortly 2-3-cleft; pericarp somewhat 

 5-angled, rather thick and indurate. Seed horizontal, 

 with very thin crustaceous testa. Embryo annular, 

 surrounding the copious endosperm. 



1. A. blitoides Nutt. Stems ascending, branched, 3-7.5 dm. 

 high; leaves thin, oblanceolate to ovate-oblong, the upper ones 

 ovate, acute, 6-15 mm. long; calyx minute, its lobes ovate, obtuse, 

 closely appressed to the base of the fruit; fruit 1 mm. broad; seed 

 shining, punctulate-rugose. 



San Pedro, Davidson; Catalina Island. 



3. CHENOPODIUM L. Goosefoot. 



Annual or rarely perennial herbs, mostly introduced 

 weeds. Leaves often white-mealy, sometimes glandular, 

 alternate, petioled. Flowers perfect, bractless, clustered 

 in axillary or terminal often panicled spikes. Calyx 

 herbaceous, 3-4-parted or mostly 5-parted; the lobes 

 usually connate or crested, more or less closely covering 

 the fruit. Pericarp membranous, closely investing the 

 lenticular or subglobose, horizontal or vertical seed. 

 Embryo annular or curved around the copious endo- 

 sperm. 



Calyx dry in fruit. 



Annuals; introduced weeds. 

 Leaves mealy or glabrous. 



Leaves white-mealy; spikes dense, usu- 

 ally longer than the leaves. 1. C. leptophyllum. 



