(54 rOKTULACACEJE. (PUKSLANE FAMILY.) 



Synopsis. 



* Sepals 5. Petals none, l'od 3 - 6-celled, opening by a lid. 



1. SESUV1UM. Stamens 5-60, inserted on the free calyx. 



* * Sepals 2. Petals 5. Pod 1-celled. 



2. POlvTULAOA. Stamens 7-20, on the partly adherent calyx. Pod opening by a lid. 



3. TALINUM. Stamens more numerous than the petals, hypogynous. Pod many-seeded. 



4. CLAYTONIA. Stamens as many as the hypogynous petals, and attached to their base. Pod 



3-6-seeded. 



1. SESirVIUOT, L. Sea Purslane. 



Calyx 5-parted, purplish inside, persistent, free. Petals none. Stamens 5- 

 60, inserted on the calyx. Styles 3-5, separate. Pod 3 - 5-celled, many-seed- 

 ed, opening transversely (circumscissile), the upper part falling off as a lid. — 

 Prostrate maritime herbs, with succulent stems and (opposite) leaves, and axil- 

 lary or terminal flowers. (An unexplained name.) 



1. §. PoriuSsucfastriim, L. Leaves lanceolate-oblong, flattish ; flow- 

 ers sessile or short-pcduncled ; stamens many. lj. — Coast of New Jersey and 

 southward. July - Sept. 



2. P^fSTUJLACA, Tourn. Purslane. 



Calyx 2-cleft ; the tube cohering with the ovary below. Petals 5, rarely 6, 

 with the 7-20 stamens inserted on the calyx, fugacious. Style mostly 3-8- 

 parted. Pod 1-celled, globular, many-seeded, opening transversely, the upper 

 part (with the upper part of the calyx) separating like a lid. — Fleshy annuals, 

 with scattered leaves. (An old Latin name, of unknown meaning.) 



1. P. olekacea, L. (Common Purslane.) Prostrate, very smooth; 

 leaves obovate or wedge-form; flowers sessile (opening only in sunny morn- 

 ings); sepals keeled; petals pale yellow; stamens 7-12; style deeply 5-6- 

 parted ; flower-bud flat and acute. — Cultivated and waste grounds ; common. 

 (Nat. from Eu.) 



P. retusa, Engelm., too closely resembling the common Purslane, is indi- 

 genous west of the Mississippi. 



P. Gilliesii, P. grandiflora, &c. are species, or varieties, with terete 

 leaves, hairy axils, and showy red or purple flowers, cultivated in gardens for 

 ornament. 



3. TALINUM, Adans. Talinum. 



Sepals 2, distinct and free, deciduous. Petals 5, ephemeral. Stamens 10- 

 30. Style 3-lobed at the apex. Pod 3-cclled at the base when young, longitu- 

 dinally 3-valved, with many seeds on a globular stalked placenta. (DcrivatioD 

 of the name obscure.) 



1. T. tcretifolium, Pursh. Leafy stems low, tuberous at the base; 

 leaves linear, cylindrical ; peduncle long and naked, bearing an open cyme of 

 purple flowers (§' broad) ; stamens 15-20. 1J. — Serpentine rocks, Westchester, 

 Pennsylvania, Palls of St. Croix River, Wisconsin, and southward. June - Aug. 

 — Peduncles 3' -6' Ions. 



