Order 22.— PORTULACACE^B. 263 



eauline opposite, the raminal alternate ; 2 pairs of scarious, subulate stipules at 

 each fork, which are shorter than the flower ; style none ; utricle equaling tho 

 greenish sepals. — Hilly woods, Can. to Ga., W. to Ark. Hight 6 — 10 or 18', 

 often nearly smooth. Lvs. 4 — 10" long, somewhat stalked. Fls. J" long, some- 

 what pedicellate. Seed globular, rosin colored. Jn — Aug. (Queria, L. Anychia 

 capillacea Nutt.) 



p. pumila. Dwarf, a few inches (2 — 4') high, the lvs. reduced in proportion, 

 very pubescent; 6tems short-jointed, tufted, fls. sessile, glomerate; style as 

 long as the ovary (at least ia specimens from Md. sent by Mr. H. Shriver), 

 forked at apex. (A. dichotoma DC.) 



i7. SIPHON YCHIA, Torr. and Gr. (Gr. aitfxov, a tube, that is, Anychia 

 with a tubular calyx.) Sepals linear, petaloid above, coherent into a 

 tube below, unarmed; petals 5 setae alternate with the stamens; style 

 filiform, minutely bifid ; utricle included in the calyx. — (T) Procumbent, 

 diffuse and widely spreading. Fls. in glomerate, terminal cymules. 

 S. Americana Torr. and Gr. — S. Car. to Fla. Sts. 1 — 2f in length. Lvs. 



oblanceolate, much shorter than the internodes, 12 — 9 — 6" long, obtuse. Bracts, 



like the lvs., very small. Fls. very numerous, 1" or more in length, with hooked 



bristles below. Sep. white above. (Herniaria Nutt.) 



i8. SCLERANTHUS, L. Knawel. (Gr. onX7]pbg, hard, avQog ; when 

 in fruit the floral envelope appears hard and dry.) Sepals 5, united 

 below into a tube contracted at the orifice; petals 0; stamens 10, 

 rarely 5 or 2 ; styles 2, distinct; utricle very smooth, inclosed in the 

 hardened calyx tube. — (T) A prostrate, diffuse little weed, exstipulate. 

 S. annuus L. Dry fields and roadsides, N. Eng. and Mid. States. Sts. numerous, 

 branching, decumbent, short (3 — 6'). Lvs. linear, acute, short, opposite, partially 

 united at their bases. Fls. very small, green, in axillary fascicles. Jl. 



19. M0LLUG0, L. Carpet-weed. Calyx of 5 sepals, inferior, united 

 at base, colored inside; corolla 0; stamens 5, sometimes 3 or 10; fila- 

 ments setaceous, shorter than and opposite to the sepals ; anthers simple ; 

 capsule 3-celled, 3-valveci, many seeded ; seeds reniform. — Lvs. at length 

 apparently verticillate, being clustered in the axils. 



M. verticillata L. Lvs. cuneiform, acute ; st. depressed, branched ; pedicels 

 1-flower. d. subumbellate ; sta. mostly but 3. — (T) Dry places throughout N. 

 America. Sts. slender, jointed, branched, lying flat upon the ground, forming a 

 roundish patch. At every joint is a cluster of wedge-shaped or spatulate lvs. of 

 unequal size, usually 5 in number, and a few flowers, each on a solitary stalk, 

 which i3 very slender, and shorter than the petioles. Fls. small, white. Jl. — Sept 



Order XXII. PORTULACACE^E. Purselanes. 



Herbs succulent or fleshy, with entire leaves, no stipules, and regular flowers. 

 Sepals 2, united at base, rarely 3 or 5. Petals 5, sometimes more or less imbricated 

 in aestivation. Sta. variable in number, but opposite the petals when as many. 

 Ova. superior, 1 -celled. Sly. several, stigmatous along the inner surface. Fr. a 

 pyxis, dehiscing by a lid, or a capsule, loculicidal, with as many valves as stigmas. 

 Seeds few or many, on long funiculi from the base, or on free central placentae. 



Genera 27, specie* 250, inhabiting dry places in every quarter of the world* They possess n» 

 remarkable properties. 



GENERA. 



§Sepals5. Petals none. Fruit a pyxis SEStrvnrM. 1 



g Sepals 2.— Stamens 5, opposite the 5 petals Claytonia. 8 



—Stamens 7 to 39,— hypogynous, capsule 8-valved Talinum. t 



— perigynous. Pyxis opening by a lid Portulaca. 4 



