378 AMARANTACE^E. (aMAUANTH FAMILY.) 



rounded nt the apex hy a circular wing. Stamens 1-2. Styles united below. 

 Utricle included in the calyx. Embryo coiled, or bent into a ring. — Smooth 

 and succulent saline plant.s, witli jointed leafless stems. Flowci-s three together; 

 tlic lateral ones sometimes sterile, minute. 



1. S. herbacea, L- Annual; stem erect, much branched; the joints 

 thickened upward, obtusely 2-toothcd at the apex ; spikes long, tapering to the 

 summit. — Salt marshes along the coast, Georgia, and uortlnvard. August. — 

 Stem G'-12' high. 



2. S. ambigua, Michx. Stem shrubby, prostrate or creeping ; the branches 

 herbaceous, erect ; joints truncate, dilated upward, slightly 2-toothed ; spikes 

 cylindrical, obtuse, the uppermost approximate, sessile, the lateral ones pcdun- 

 cled. — Sandy marshes along the coast, Florida, and northward. Aug. — Stem 

 2° -3° long, the branches 4'- 6' high. 



6. CHENOPODIlSrA, Moquin. 



Flowers perfect, bracted. Calyx 5-partcd, fleshy, inflated and bcrry-likc in 

 fniit. Stamens 5. Stigmas 2-3, spreading. Utricle depressed, enclosed in 

 the calyx. Seed horizontal, lenticular. Embryo flat-spiral, dividing tlie scanty 

 albumen into 2 portions. — Smooth saline plants, with fleshy terete alternate 

 leaves, and axillary clustered flowers. 



1. C. maritima, Moquin. Annual ; stem diffusely much branched ; leaves 

 linear, acute ; calvx-lobcs obtuse, keeled ; stamens exserted — Low sandy places 

 along the coast, Florida, and northward. Sept. — Stem l°-o° high. Leaves 

 1'- 2' long. Flowers minute. 



6. SALSOLA, L. Saltwort. 



Flowers perfect, 2-bracted. Calyx 5-partcd, the lobes at length transversely 

 winged. Stamens 5, slightly united at the base. Stylo slender : stigmas 2. 

 Utricle flattened at the apex, enclosed in the persistent calyx. Embryo conical- 

 spiral. Albumen none. — Saline plants, with alternate and fleshy leaves, and 

 axillary flowers. 



1. S. Kali, L. Smooth ; stem spreading, ascending; leaves subulate, s])inc- 

 pointed, like the ovate bracts; flowers solitary ; calyx-lobes coimivent, wiih the 

 dilated, membranaceous wing rose-colored. (S. Caroliniana, Walt.) — Saudy 

 shores, Georgia, and northward. Aug. Q) — Stem 1° - 1 J° high. 



OnDKU TOO. AMARANTACE-T]. (Amaranth Family.) 



Chiefly herbs, with simple cxstipulatc loaves, and incon.spicuous scarious- 

 bracteil flowers, wliich arc commonly crowded in spikes or heads. — Sepals 

 8-5, free, nr united at the ba.so, scarious, imbricated in t!ie biiil. Stamens 

 3 -.'>, hypogynous, 0|)[K)sitc the sepals, free, or united below, often wilh 



