GOOSE-FOOT TRIBE 345 



4. C. album (White Goose-foot). Leaves egg-shaped, with tri- 

 angular base, bluntly toothed, upper ones narrow, entire ; flowers 

 in dense clustering spikes. The whole plant succulent ; leaves 

 more or less fleshy, and covered with a whitish, mealy powder. 

 This is perhaps the commonest species ; it grows 1-3 feet high. 

 Waste places and cultivated ground ; common. Fl. July to Sep- 

 tember. Annual. 



There are several other British species of this uninteresting family 

 some of which have nothing but their rarity to recommend them, 

 and others are remarkable only for the tendency of their leaves 

 to assume a triangular outline, the margin being variously lobed 

 and toothed. The characters of most are difficult of discrimina- 

 tion, so that botanists are agreed neither as to the number of species 

 nor names. 



2. Su,eda (Sea Elite) 



1. S. maritima (Annual Seaside Goose-grass). Styles 2 ; stem 

 herbaceous. A low, straggling plant, 2 or 3-12 inches high, with 

 short, fleshy, semi- cylindrical leaves, and small, inconspicuous, 

 green flowers. Muddy sea-shores ; common. Fl. July, August. 

 Annual. 



2. 5. fruticosa (Shrubby Sea Blite). Styles 3 ; stem shrubby. 

 Larger than the last, 2-3 feet high, with a shrubby stem, and 

 having 3 styles in each flower. Rarer than the last, and local on 

 the southern and eastern coast of England. Fl. September, 

 October. Perennial. 



3. Atriplex (Orache) 



1. A. patula (Common Orache). Stem spreading, often with the 

 central branch erect ; leaves triangular, with 2 spreading lobes at 

 the lower angles, toothed, the upper leaves narrow, entire ; flowers 

 in tufted spikes ; perianth of the fruit warty and black. A common 

 weed, with straggling, furrowed stems, often tinged with red ; 

 distinguished from the Goose-foot family by the solitary seed 

 being shut in between two triangular, leaf-like valves. The main 

 stem is usually erect, the rest are prostrate, appearing as if they 

 had been bent down by force. Cultivated and waste ground, and 

 on the seashore ; abundant. Fl. July to October. Annual. 



2. A. laciniata (Frosted Sea Orache). Stems spreading; leaves 

 with three angles, wavy at the edge, and toothed, mealy beneath. 

 Distinguished from the preceding by its mealy leaves, and the 

 whitish hue of the whole plant. Sea-shore, not uncommon. 

 Fl. July, October, Annual. 



Several other species are described by botanists, but the remark 

 annexed to the preceding family applies equally well to this. 



