PORTULACACEAE 85 



5, perigynous. Stamens 8 to 20. Styles 3 to 6 or 8, united at base. 

 Capsule circumscissed, many-seeded. 



1. P. okracea, L. Prostrate; smooth; leaves cuneate-oblong, ob- 

 tuse; flowers sessile. 

 POT-HERB PORTULACA. Common Purslane. 



Annual. Stem 6 to 12 or 15 inches long, terete, fleshy, purplish, branched. 

 Leaves half an inch to an inch long, thickish, and fleshy, subsessile, alternate and 

 opposite. Flowers yellow, in small clusters, axillary and terminal. 

 Hob. Gardens, and lots. Nat. of India. Fl. July. Fr. Sept. 



60. TAUWIJlftl, Adans. 



[Derivation of the name obscure.] 



Sepals 2, free and deciduous. Petals 5, hypogynous. Stamens 10 

 to 30. Style 3-lobed. Capsule 3-valved. Seeds numerous, covering 

 a free central placenta. 



1. T. teretifolium, Muhl. Leaves terete, acute; peduncles 

 long, naked and scape-like, dichotomous and cymose at summit. 

 TERETE-LEAVED TALINUM. 



Perennial ; smooth. Stem 1 to 2 or 3 inches long, thickish, fleshy, several from 

 the root, sometimes dichotomously branching. Leaves 1 to 2 inches long, succu- 

 lent, alternate, numerous, rather crowded above, mostly a little incurved. Pedun- 

 cles terminal, 3 to 6 or 8 inches long, slender. Flowers bright purple, appearing 

 in succession, opening in sunshine, at mid-day, for three or four hours, then clos- 

 ing and shrivelling. 

 Hob. Serpentine rocks : very local. Fl. June. Fr. Aug. 



Obs. This interesting and rather pretty little plant flourishes re- 

 markably well, when transferred from its native rock to a flower- 

 pot, and set where it can have a full share of all the sunshine that 

 is going. 



61. CL,AYTO V IVIA, L. 



[Named in honor of John Clayton, an early Virginian Botanist.] 

 Sepals 2, free and persistent. Petals 5. Stamens 5, adhering to the 

 claws of the petals. Style 3-lobed. Capsule 3-valved, 3- to 5- 

 seeded. 



1. C. Virginica, L. Root a deep tuber ; leaves mostly 2, oppo- 

 site, linear-lanceolate ; raceme terminal, simple. 

 VIRGINIAN CLAYTONIA. Spring Beauty. 



Perennial; smooth. Stem 6 to 10 inches long, simple. Leaves an opposite pair, 

 near the middle of the stem, 3 to 5 inches in length. Flowers pale red, with pur- 

 ple veins, usually 6tol2orl5ina loose simple raceme. 

 Hob. Moist, low grounds : common. FL April. Fr. June. 



ORDER XVIII. MALVACEAE. 



Herbs, or shrubs (those here described are all herbaceous) ; leaves alternate, stipu- 

 late ; flowers regular, the calyx valvate, the corolla convolute, in the bud ; sta- 

 mens numerous, monadelphous in a column, the ant/iers 1-celled, reniform; seeds 

 with little albumen ; embryo curved, the foliaceous cotyledons variously doubled up > 

 The plants of this family are generally remarkable for their mucilaginous and 

 demulcent properties ; but the order is pre-eminently distinguished, as containing 

 the Cotton Plant (Goisypium herbaceum, Z.), which enters so largely into the 

 planting^ commercial, and manufacturing concerns of the civilized world. 



