26 ENGLISH BOTANY. 



with iron and guarded with soldiers." Under the curious names of " Fat Hen," and 

 " Good King Henry," this plant was fonnerly largely cultivated in gardens as a 

 potherb, and even in the beginning of the present century was highly esteemed in 

 Lincolnshire and some of the midland counties, but is now but little used. It forms 

 a very palatable and wholesome green vegetable when boiled, and much resembles 

 spinach in flavour ; the young shoots may be boiled and eaten like asparagus, or put 

 in broths and stews. The wliole plant is slightly pui-gative, but not sufficiently so to 

 be valuable as a medicine. It is easily cultivated, and the crop of green leaves it 

 furnishes during the greater part of the year, was doubtless very welcome before the 

 numerous vagetablos now grown in kitchen gardens were introduced. 



Tribe IV.— SPINACIE^. 



Flowers monoecious or polygamous ; the female flowers with the 

 perianth 2-valved, and dissimilar to that of the male or perfect flowers. 

 Seed generally with copious albumen ; embryo peripherical. 



Stem continuous. Leaves flat. 



GENUS F/.— ATRIPLEX. Toumef. 



Flowers monoecious or polygamous. Male or perfect flowers with 

 the calyx of 3 to 5 sepals, slightly united at the base : stamens 3 to 

 5 : fruit none, or depressed and containing a horizontal lenticular seed. 

 Female flowers with the perianth compressed, bivalve of 2 free or 

 more or less united sepals: stamens none: styles 2, united at the 

 base: seed vertical, lenticular, with a crustaceous or membranous 

 testa. 



Herbs with opposite hastate triangular or rhomboidal leaves, often 

 sprinkled with whitish meal. Flowers in clusters arranged m ter- 

 minal spikes, often combined into panicles. 



The name of this genus of plants is said to be derived from a (a) privative, and 

 Tpifto {treplio) I nourish. 



Section I— TEUTLIOrSIS. DumorL 



Flowers monoecious. Female flowers with 2 valve-like sepals, joined 

 only at the base. Pericarp membranous, free from the periautli. Testa 

 crustaceous ; radicle basal or sublatcral. 



SPECIES I.— ATRIPLEX LITTORALIS. "L^m." Wald. 



Plates MCC. MCCI. 



Annual. Stem herbaceous, erect, branched ; the branches ascend- 

 ing or curved upwards, and erect at the apex. Leaves alternate or 



