BRITISH FLORA 



mucli sUnilcr, formiiiij l.iriJiT lulls, with bio.i<lur 

 leaves, lar^jer, wliilur stipules. The liabit is pros- 

 trate. The plant is dark-tfreen. The root is 

 strong and woody, the stem spreadin)<- from the 

 crown, but scircely rootinfj until the autumn, when 

 it is prostrate, with regular alternate branches, 

 the leaves in two rows, overlapping. The stem 

 is shrubby, with small bent -down hairs on the 

 upper surface only. The leaves are round to egg- 

 shaped, fringed with hairs (hence ciliata). The 

 flowers are in chistcrs of 1-3, in small distinct 

 clusters, stalkless, in the axils of the lateral 

 branches. The fjowers are larger than in the last. 

 The sepals are bristle-pointed. The plant flowers 

 in July .ind August, and is a herbaceous, diminu- 

 livi-, shruli-liUc' p.-iennial. 



Hairy Rupture Wort (Herniaria hirsuta, L.). — 

 The habitat of this plant is sandy ground, waste 

 places, cultivated ground. The habit is prostrate. 

 The stem is herbaceous, clothed with straight, 

 spreading hairs (hence hirsu/a). The leaves are 

 elliptic, oblong, hairy, n.arrow both ends, yellow- 

 ish-grey. The calyx is hairy like a small bur. 

 The plant is 4-6 in. high, flowering in July and 

 August, and is a herbaceous annual. 



Order ChenopodiacE/E 



Goosefoot (Chenopodiuyn botryoides, Sm. ). — The 

 habitat of this plant is muddy coasts or tidal rivers, 

 moist sandy places near the sea, on the S.E. coast. 

 The habit is erect or prostrate. The leaves are 

 thick, fleshy, more or less triangular, slightly 

 toothed. The plant when fresh is succulent, 

 brittle, limp when dry. The flowers are in a 

 dense, compound spike, leafless above. The seeds 

 are vertical, small, smooth, shining, keeled at the 

 edge. The pericarp is loose. The plant is 2-6 in. 

 high, flowering in September, and is a herbaceous 

 ;innual. 



Sea Beet {Beta marilima, L.). — The habitat of 

 the plant is maritime places, muddy seashores. 

 The habit is pyramidal. The root-stock is thick 

 and fleshy, branched, tapered into a fleshy root. 

 The stems are prostrate below, long, spreading 

 in a circle, then ascending, numerous, branched, 

 angular, striped, ascending at the apex. The 

 leaves are fleshy, shining, the lower rhomboid, 

 triangular to egg-shaped, the upper lance-shaped, 

 narrowed into a broad leafstalk. The flowers are 

 green, in long, clustered spikes, slender, simple, 

 leafy, 2-3-flowered, stalkless. The bracts are 

 linear to lance-shaped, longer than the clusters. 

 The perianth-segments have entire keels, the 

 outer (sepals) bent inwards, blunt, with mem- 

 branous margins. The stigmas are lance-shaped. 

 The plant is 1-3 ft, high, flowering between June 

 and October, and is a herbaceous perennial. 



Narrov7-leaved Sea Orache (A triplex lit f oralis, 

 L.). — The habit.it of this plant is salt-marshes, 

 brackish marshes, banks. The habit is erect. It 

 closely resembles A. palula, but has narrower, 

 usually entire leaves, not spear-shaped, or seldom 

 rhombic. The plant is mealy. The stems are 

 striped, with ascending branches. The leaves are 



narrow, entire or toothed, linear-oblong to l.mce- 

 sliaped. The upper leaves are very n.irrow. The 

 flowers are in slender, terminal, clustered spikes. 

 The fruiting perianth is rhomboidal, triangular, 

 toothed, tubercled on the back. The seeds are 

 nearly smooth, shining, all vertical. The plant is 

 \-2 ft. high, flowering between July and Septem- 

 ber, and is a herbaceous annual. 



Orache (A triplex palula, L.).— The habitat of 

 this plant is cultivated and waste ground, where 

 it is common. It may be native on the seashores 

 of Great Hritain. The habit is erect or ascending. 

 The plant is mealy, deep green. The stem is 

 striped, with spreading branches. The lower 

 leaves are opposite, rhombic, or spear-shaped 

 with ascending, blunt teeth, from a wedge-shaped 

 base, entire or coarsely toothed, acute. The 

 flowers are in simple spikes usually leafy below, 

 the bracts broad. The female perianth-segments 

 are rhombic, triangular, toothed, tubercled, rarely 

 hardened, mixed with the males, the axillary soli- 

 tary. They are spear-shaped, blunt at the base 

 or triangular. The seeds are, when large, dark 

 brown, flattened, the smaller smooth, shining. 

 The plant is 1-4 ft. high, flowering from July to 

 September, and is a herbaceous annual. 



Atriplex Babingtonii, Woods. — The habitat of 

 this plant is sea-coasts. The plant has been re- 

 garded as a subspecies of A. patiila. The habit is 

 as in the last. The plant is pale and very mealy. 

 The stems are spreading, prostrate then ascend- 

 ing, with spreading branches. The leaves are 

 egg-shaped, usually opposite, triangular, or rhom- 

 boid to egg-shaped, entire, wavy, the upper lance- 

 shaped, 3-lobed below, toothed. The flowers are 

 in distant, axillary and terminal, clusters, the 

 spikes loose and leafy, few-flowcrod. The fruiting 

 perianth is rhomboidal, acute, toothed, tubercled 

 on the back, the sepals united belowat the hardened 

 base, or to the middle. The seeds are minutely 

 tuberculate, all vertical, large, pale. The plant is 

 6-36 in. high, flowering between July and Sep- 

 tember, and is a herbaceous annual. 



Atriplex laciniata, L. — The habitat of this plant 

 is sandy sea-coasts. The habit is prostrate then 

 ascending. The plant is clothed with persistent, 

 silvery scales. The stem is buff or reddish, not 

 striped, angular, branched from the base, the 

 branches spreading, stout or slender. The lower 

 leaves are opposite, mealy below, entire or 

 toothed, acute or blunt, rhombic to egg-shaped, 

 wedge-shaped below, the upper the same or spear- 

 shaped, shortly-stalked. The floral leaves are 

 stalkless. The male flowers are in short, dense, 

 naked spikes, the females in the axils, with a few 

 males between. The fruiting perianths .are united 

 to the middle, broader than long, rhomboidal, 3- 

 lobed, with blunt, lateral lobes ending in tubercles, 

 3-ribbed on the back, entire, toothed 'or lobed. 

 The disk is prominently veined or wrinkled, 

 rarely tubercled. The seeds are reddish-brown, 

 large, much flattened at the border, rough, opaque. 

 The plant is 6-36 in. in height, flowering between 

 July and October, and is a herbaceous annual. 



Atriplex Calotheca, Fr. — It differs from A. has- 



