198 A FLORA OF MANILA 
1. SESUVIUM Linnaeus 
Prostrate or spreading, succulent, branched herbs. Leaves opposite, very 
fleshy, entire. Flowers small, axillary, solitary. Calyx-tube short, the 
lobes 5, persistent. Stamens few or many, inserted near the top of the 
calyx-tube. Ovary free, 3- to 5-celled; styles 3 to 5; ovules many. Fruit 
an ovate-oblong, membranaceous, 3- to 5-celled, circumscissly dehiscent cap- 
sule. (An unexplained name.) 
Species 4, along the seashores of warm countries, 1 in the Philippines. 
1, S. portulacastrum L. Dampalit (Tag.). 
A fleshy, prostrate, spreading, branched herb, the stems rooting at the 
nodes, often reddish, 20 to 50 cm in length, with short astending branches. 
Leaves oblong-linear to linear, green, fleshy, very thick, 2 to 4 cm long, 
the petioles short, dilated below and clasping the stems by their thin margins. 
Flowers small, shortly pedicelled. Calyx pink or red within, the segments 
5 to 6 mm long, cuspidate. Capsule about 5 mm long. 
Along the banks of tidal streams, etc., Maypajo, fl. May and probably in 
other months; along the seashore throughout the Philippines. Most tropical 
and subtropical seashores. 
2. TRIANTHEMA Linnaeus 
Prostrate, glabrous or slightly hairy, succulent, branched, annual herbs. 
Leaves petioled, opposite, in unequal pairs, entire, ovate to obovate, their 
petioles dilated at the base and connected by their thin margins. Flowers 
axillary, small, solitary, sessile or pedicelled. Calyx-tube short or long, 
5-lobed, often colored within. Stamens 5 or more, inserted near the top 
of the calyx-tube. Ovary free, 1- or 2-celled; styles 1 or 2; ovules 1 to 
many. Capsule thin or coriaceous, clavate to obovate, circumsciss. (Greek 
“three” and “flower,” from the arrangement of the flowers in some species.) 
Species about 10, tropical and subtropical, a single one in the Philippines. 
1. T. PORTULACASTRUM L. (T. monogyna L.). Toston (Tag.); Ayam (Vis.). 
Glabrous or nearly so, the branches up to 60 cm or more in length. 
Leaves obovate, 1 to 5 cm long. Flowers axillary, solitary, sessile, the 
calyx-lobes oblong, mucronate, 4 to 5 mm long, pink, imbricate. Stamens 
about 15. Style simple. Capsule 5 to 6 mm long, truncate; seeds about 10, 
small. (Fl. Filip. pl. 165, T. obcordata.) 3 
In open waste places, cultivated lands etc., fl. Aug.—Mar.; in and about 
towns in the Philippines. All tropical countries. 
3. MOLLUGO Linnaeus 
Spreading or ascending branched herbs, the leaves entire, alternate, 
opposite, or whorled, fleshy. Flowers small, axillary, sessile or pedicelled, 
in clusters, cymes, or racemes. Sepals 5, persistent. Stamens 3 to 5, 
rarely many, the staminodes small or none. Ovary free, 3- to 5-celled; 
ovules many, axillary; styles 3 to 5. Capsule enclosed by the sepals, 
membranaceous, loculicidally 3- to 5-valved. (Old Latin name for some 
soft plant.) 
Species about 12 in tropical and subtropical countries, 3 in the Philip- 
pines. 
DeTiGeig PU DES CONG... sen sors oo ack noe ee nc SEe Klee cues wat ceeanestee yore 1. M. lotoides 
RarPea tote. 28 Se tis Se Sa ck nt ene ec noe 2. M. oppositifolia 
