PORTULACACEAE 415 



slender : sepals 2, ovate-orbicular, about 5 mm. long, cuspidate : corolla pink, 2-3 cm. 

 broad : stamens 30 or more : capsule subglobose, 6-7 mm. long. 



In sandy soil, Arkansas to the Indian Territory, New Mexico, Texas and Mexico. Summer. 



6. Talinum refl6xum Cav. Foliage glabrous. Stems erect, 2-9 dm. tall, stout 

 below, wire-like above, where they are branched : leaf-blades flat, spatulate to elliptic, 

 3-10 cm. long, short-acuminate, undulate, short-petioled : peduncles filiform, diverging : 

 sepals ovate or oval, 2-2.5 mm. long, concave : corolla rose to yellow, 6-8 mm. broad : petals 

 5, oblong to cuneate-oblong : stamens often 12-15 : capsule subglobose, 5 mm. in diameter : 

 seeds about 1 mm. long, minutely tuberculate. [Talinum patens Willd.] 



On dry hillsides, Florida and Texas to New Mexico and Mexico. Spring to fall. The form that 

 produces procumbent branches, is T. reflesum sarmentosum (Engelm.) Small [T. sarmentosum Engelm.]. 



2. CLAYTONIA L. 



Annual or perennial fleshy herbs, sometimes with tuber-like corms and generally gla- 

 brous foliage. Stems more or less tufted, commonly simple. Leaves basal and cauline, 

 alternate or opposite, various, without stipules. Flowers in terminal racemes or cymes. 

 Sepals 2, herbaceous, persistent, distinct. Petals 5. Stamens 5, opposite the petals and 

 adnate to their bases : filaments slender. Ovary free : styles 3, mostly united : stigmas 

 minute. Ovules few in a cavity. Capsule 1-celled, becoming membranous, 3-valved, often 

 3-angled. Seeds few, flattened, reniform. SPRING BEAUTY. 



Leaves of an elliptic or oblong type, mostly less than 7 cm. long. 1. C. Caroliniana. 



Leaves of a linear type, mostly over 7 cm. long. 2. C. Virginica. 



1. Claytonia Caroliniana Michx. Corm subglobose. Stems tufted, 0.5-2 dm. long, 

 erect or spreading, simple : leaf-blades ovate to narrowly oblong, 2.5-7 cm. long, obtuse 

 or acutish, narrowed at the base into petioles: racemes 2-10 cm. long: pedicels 1-4 cm. 

 long, inclined to one side : sepals ovate or oval to suborbicular, 6-9 mm. long, obtuse : 

 petals oblong, white to pink, 10-12 mm. long, obtuse, delicately veined : capsule oval, 

 3-4 mm. long, 3-angled : seeds lenticular, about 2 mm. broad, black, smooth, shining. 



In woods, chiefly on the mountains, Nova Scotia to the Northwest Territory, North Carolina, Ten- 

 nessee and Missouri. Spring and early summer. 



2. Claytonia Virginica L. Corm globose or irregular. Stems more or less tufted, 

 erect or spreading, 0.5-2.5 dm. long, simple : leaf-blades linear or nearly so, 7-12 cm. 

 long, acute or acutish : racemes 0.5-1.5 dm. long, loosely flowered : pedicels 1-3 cm. long, 

 inclined to one side : sepals ovate, leathery, 5-7 mm. long : petals oblong, 8-10 mm. long, 

 usually notched at the apex, white or pink, delicately veined : capsule globose-obovoid, 3 

 mm. high, slightly 3-angled : seeds lenticular, 2 mm. broad, smooth, shining. 



In woods, Nova Scotia to the Northwest Territory, Georgia and Texas. Spring. 



3. FORTULACA L. 



Annual or perennial fleshy herbs, with simple or diffusely branched stems. Leaves 

 alternate or nearly opposite, flat to terete, furnished with scarious or bristle-like stipules. 

 Flowers perfect, of various colors, sometimes subtended by an involucre. Sepals 2, decid- 

 uous. Petals 4-6, usually 5, fugacious. Stamens 8-many, inserted with the petals : fila- 

 ments slender. Ovary partly or wholly inferior : styles 3-8, slender. Ovules numerous. 

 Capsule 1-celled, membranous, opening by a cap. Seeds more or less flattened, reniform or 

 cochleate, with a smooth or minutely tuberculate testa. 



Leaf-blades terere or nearly so. more or less hairy in the axils. 

 Annual or usually so : lid of capsule ovoid or hemispheric. 



Corolla over 2 cm. broad. 1. P. grandiflora. 



Corolla less than 1.5 cm. broad. 2. P. pilosa. 



Perennial or usually so : lid of capsule depressed. 3. P. halimoides. 



Leaf-blades flat, glabrous in the axils or nearly so. 



Petals acute : capsule with a crown-like border near the mouth. 



Upper leaf-blades broadest below the middle. 4. P. coronata. 



Upper leaf-blades broadest above the middle. 5. P. lanceolata. 



Petals notched : capsule without a crown-like border. 



Stems or branches prostrate : sepals acute : styles 5-7 : seeds granulate. 6. P. oleracea. 



Stems or branches ascending : sepals obtuse : styles 3-4 : seeds tuberculate. 7. P. retusa. 



1. Portulaca grandiflora Hook. Annual, bright green. Stems often branched at 

 the base, the branches ascending or decumbent, 0.5-3 dm. long, more or less villous-pilose 

 especially near the nodes : leaves somewhat clustered ; blades terete, 1-2.5 cm. long, blunt, 

 with stout petioles about 1 mm. long : flowers usually solitary : sepals 2, ovate, 10-15 mm. 

 long, acute or slightly acuminate, one at least horned back of the apex : corolla pink, 



