CHENOrODIACE.E. (gOOSEFOOT FAMILY.) 375 



armed with 2-3 reflcxcd spines. Albumen almo-^t none. Embryo straiglit. 

 Cotyledons unequal, convolute. — Shrubby tropical plants, with entire stipulate 

 leaves, and small greenish flowers in an elongated and slender spike. 



1. P. alliacea, L. — South Florida. — Stem 2° -3° high, closely pubes- 

 cent. Leaves 3' - 4' long, oblong or obovate, obtuse, narrowed into a short 

 petiole, pubescent beneath. Spikes filiform, single or by pairs, 6'- 12' long. 

 Calyx-lobes linear, incurved at the apex. Stamens 4-5. Achenia erect, ap- 

 pressed to the rachis, with two spines at each lobe. Stipules subulate, minute. 



2. mVIHA, Plum. 



Calyx remotely 3-bracted, 4-partcd, colored. Stamens 4 -8 : anthers ovate or 

 oblong. Ovary simple. Ovule solitary, amphitropous. Stigma capitate or 

 many-cleft. Berry nearly globose, at length dry. Embryo forming a ring 

 around the copious albumen. Cotyledons somewhat leafy, convolute. — Shrubs, 

 with alternate minutely stipulate jjetioled leaves, and small wliite or rose-colored 

 flowers in axillary and terminal racemes. Bracts deciduous. 



1 E.. humilis, L. Closely pubescent; stem witli spreading branches, 

 leaves oblong-ovate, rounded at the base, tapering but obtuse at tlie summit, 

 on long filifoi'm petioles ; racemes slender, longer than the leaves ; calyx-lobes 

 obovate, pale rose-color ; berry rounded, compressed. — South Florida. — Shrub 

 JO _ oo jjjgh. Leaves l'-3' long. Flowers and berries 1"- 1^" long. 



3. PHYTOLACCA, Tourn. Pokeweed. 



Calyx 3-bracted, 5-parted ; the lobes petal-like, rounded. Stamens .5-2.5, the 

 filaments subulate : anthers elliptical. Ovary compound. Styles .5-12, short, 

 distinct, recurved at the apex, stigmatic within. Fruit a depressed globose berry, 

 containing .5-12 one-seeded indehiscent carpels united in a circle. Embryo 

 forming a ring around the central albumen. Cotyledons linear. — Erect branch- 

 ing herbs, with entire petioled leaves. Flowers in racemes opposite the leaves. 



1. P. decandra, L. Smooth; stem very stout (2° -12° high); leaves 

 ovate-lanceolate, acute ; racemes many-flowered, as long as the leaves ; flowers 

 white, turning purplish; stamens, styles, and carpels 10. — Margins of fields 

 and uncultivated ground, Florida, and northward. July- Sept. H, — Root 

 large. Berry black. 



Order 108. CHENOPODIACEJG. (Goosefoot Family.) 



Unsiglitly herbs, with e.xstipulate leaves, inconspicuous flowers, and the 

 characters mostly of the preceding family ; but the green calyx often 

 becoming succulent in fruit, 5 (rarely 1-2) stamens opposite the sepals, 

 a solitary ovary forming an achenium or utricle in fruit, two short and 

 spreading styles, a horizontal or vertical lenticular seed, and the embryo 

 forming a ring around the albumen, or spirally coiled with little or no 

 albumen. 



