Siiteda.] chenopodiacEjE. 283 



1. S. australis, Moq. A glabrous annual or biennial, with simple and 

 erect or branched and spreading stems of 6 to 8 in., hard and apparently 

 woody at the base, succulent at the top. Leaves usually about \ in. long 

 and 1 line broad, thick and fleshy. Flowers very small, in axillary clusters 

 of 3 to 5 or rarely solitary. Seed entirely enclosed in the perianth and always 

 horizontal. — Chenopodium australis, Moq. in DC. Prod. xiii. part ii. 163. 

 Suada indica, Seem. Bot. Her. 406 ; but not of Moq. 



In maritime marshes, Hance. Extends probably from Australia to eastern tropical Asia, 

 and northward to Loochoo. The Hongkong specimens appear identical with Australian ones 

 which J. D. Hooker refers to the common European S. maritima. It has, however, much 

 thicker leaves, more like those of S. indica and & nudiflora ; but these are much more 

 shrubby species, with vertical seeds. 



3. BASELLA, Linn. 



Bracteoles adhering to the perianth and united in a 2-lobed external calyx. 

 Perianth ovoid, shortly 5-lobed. Style single, with 3 oblong stigmatic lobes. 

 Fruit enclosed in the globular succulent perianth and bracts. Seed vertical. 

 Embryo spiral, with little or no albumen. — Stems twining. Leaves alternate, 

 flat, but succulent. Flowers sessile, in simple or branched spikes. 



A small tropical or subtropical Asiatic genus 



1 . B. rubra, Linn.; Moq. in DC. Prod, xm.part ii. 222. A glabrous her- 

 baceous twiner of considerable length. Leaves stalked, broadly ovate, succu- 

 lent, about 2 in. long. Spikes axillary, pedunculate, simple, 2 or 3 in. long. 

 Flowers about 1 line long, pale red, sessile, at first close together, but becom- 

 ing distant as the spike lengthens. Berries (or fruiting perianths) dark pur- 

 ple, about 3 lines diameter. 



On the sides of a pond in the Happy Valley, Wilford. A species of uncertain origin, pro- 

 bably Asiatic, commonly cultivated in India, and readily establishing itself on roadsides and 

 in waste places. 



Order LXXXVIT. AMARANTACE^L 



Herbs, with the characters of Ckenopodium, except that the perianth is 

 usually more scarious, with the segments more distinct ; the bracts and brac- 

 teoles more prominent and scarious, and in one tribe there are several ovules 

 in the ovary, attached to a free central placenta as in Caryophyllea. Leaves 

 alternate in a few genera, opposite in the others, without stipules, and not 

 succulent. 



A considerable Order, chiefly tropical and American, with a few species spread over the 

 Old World, and some, chiefly weeds, extending into more temperate regions. 



Leaves alternate. 



Ovules and seeds several 1. Celosta. 



Ovules and seeds solitary 2. Amarantus. 



Leaves opposite. 



Flowers green and reflexed, in long terminal spikes. Anthers 2- 

 celled. 



Flowers with 1 pungent bristle on each side 3. Achyranthes. 



Flowers with a cluster of hooked bristles on each side ... 4. Cyathula. 

 Flowers white, in axillary clusters. Anthers 1-celled .... 5. Alternanthera. 



