528 CHENOPODIACE.E. 



tary barren flowers, raised each on a stalk 2 4 inches 

 high ; the fertile flowers are sessile among the leaves. 

 El. June September. Perennial. 



SUB-CLASS IV. 

 MONOCHLAMYDEyE. 



Flowers having a calyx or corolla, or neither, never 

 both. In this Sub-class it is often doubtful whether the 

 leaves which enclose the stamens and pistils of a flower 

 should be called a calyx or corolla : the term perianth 

 (from the Greek peri, around, and anthos, a flower) is 

 therefore used to denote this organ, and must be taken 

 to mean all the leaves, whether resembling sepals OT petals, 

 which enclose the other parts of fructification. Used 

 in this sense, and applied to the preceding Sub-classes, 

 the calyx and corolla would be correctly called a double 

 perianth. 



ORDER LXVIIL CHENOPODIACE^E. GOOSE* 

 FOOT TRIBE. 



Perianth 2 5-lobed, not falling off; stamens 5, rarely 1 

 or 2, from the base of the perianth and opposite its lobes ; 

 ovary 1, superior or adhering to the tube of the perianth ; 

 style 2 or 4 cleft, rarely simple ; stigma undivided ; fruit 

 1 -seeded, enclosed in the perianth, which often becomes 

 enlarged or fleshy. Herbaceous or somewhat shrubby 

 plants, with leaves which are more or less inclined to be 

 fleshy; the ^ flowers are small and inconspicuous, the 

 perianth decidedly partaking of the characters of a calyx, 

 which sometimes, as in Atriplex, has a tendency to become 

 enlarged when in fruit. Some plants have flowers bearing 

 pistils only, others stamens only, and others again both 

 stamens and pistils. They are common weeds in many 

 temperate climates, and are most abundant in salt marshes 



