P0RTULACACE2E. (PURSLANE FAMILY.) 67 
some species with brilliant flowers. (An old Latin name of un¬ 
known meaning.) 
1- P* Oleracea, L. (Common Purslane.) Smooth, pros¬ 
trate; leaves wedge-form; flowers sessile (pale yellow) ; stamens 10- 
12. — Cultivated grounds, introduced into the United States. 
2» TAliINlJI?I, Adans. Talinum. 
Sepals free, deciduous. Stamens 10-30. Style 3-lobed at the 
apex. Pod 3-celled at the base when young, 3-valved, with many 
seeds on a globular stalked placenta. — Fleshy perennials. (Der¬ 
ivation of the name obscure.) 
1. X. teretifolium, Pursh. Leafy stems low, from a short 
rootstock ; leaves linear, cylindrical; peduncle long and naked, bear¬ 
ing an open cyme of purple flowers. — Serpentine rocks, Westches¬ 
ter, Penn., and southward. June - Aug. — Corolla §' broad. 
3. CliAYTOIVIA, L. Spring-beauty. 
Sepals ovate, free, green and persistent. Stamens 5, adhering 
to the short claws of the petals. Style 3-lobed at the apex. Pod 
3-valved, 2 - 5-seeded. — Our species are perennials, sending up 
simple stems in early spring from a small deep tuber, bearing a 
pair of opposite leaves, and a loose raceme of pretty flowers. Co¬ 
rolla pale rose-color with deeper veins, opening for more than one 
day ! (Named in honor of Clayton , one of the earliest botanists 
of this country, who contributed to Gronovius the materials for the 
Flora Virginica.) 
L C. Virginica, L. Leaves linear-lanceolate, elongated.— 
Moist open woods, from Connecticut westward. 
Y 2. C. Caroliniana, Michx. Leaves spatulate-oblong or oval- 
lanceolate.— Vermont, Northern New York, and southward along 
the Alleghanies. 
Order 22. MALVACEAE. (Mallow Family.) 
Herbs or shrubs, with alternate stipulate leaves and reg¬ 
ular flowers, the calyx valvate and the corolla convolute in 
the bud, numerous stamens monadelphous in a column, 1-cell- 
ed anthers, and kidney-shaped seeds. — Sepals 5, united at 
the base, persistent, often involucellate with a whorl of 
bractlets outside, forming a sort of exterior calyx. Petals 5, 
