PORTULACE^E. II. CYPSELEA. III. PORTULACA. 



73 



to be shrubby, these it will be requisite to treat as other stove 

 plants ; and cuttings of them will be easily rooted. 



II. CYPSE'LEA (from Kv\f*e\r), kypsele, a bee-hive ; in refer- 

 ence to the form of the capsule). Turp. in ann. mus. 7. p. 219. 

 t. 121. f. 5. D. C. prod. 3. p. 353. Radiana, Rafin. speech. 1. 

 p. 88. 



LIN. SYST. Di-Triandria, Digynia. Calyx campanulate, 

 permanent, coloured, 5-parted; lobes obtuse, 2 of which are 

 smaller than the other 3. Corolla wanting. Stamens 2-3, in- 

 serted in the calyx and alternating with its lobes (ex Turp.), or 

 opposite the smaller lobes (ex Rafin.). Ovariutn free, 1-celled 

 Style hardly any, 2-parted, or stigmas 2. Capsule 1-celled, 

 many-seeded, opening transversely. Seeds fixed to an oval, 

 central placenta, very small, and very numerous. Herbs, na- 

 tives of St. Domingo, with the habit of Montia or Crypto,, 

 rather succulent, annual, and glabrous. Leaves opposite, obo- 

 vate ; petioles widened into a stipule-formed, jagged membrane. 

 Flowers axillary, small, greenish, solitary, on short pedicels. 



1 C. HOMiFtfsA (Turp. 1. c.). O- S. Native of St. Do- 

 mingo. Tratt. obs. hot. 2. p. 41. t. 72. Radiana petiolata, 

 Rafin. 1. c. Millegrana Surian, in herb. Juss. 



Trailing Cypselia. PI. tr. 



Cult. Sow the seeds thinly in a pot, and place them in a 

 hot-bed, or in a stove, with a pan of water under the pot. Not 

 worth growing, except in a botanic garden. 



III. PORTULA'CA (from porto, to carry, and lac, milk ; 

 plants milky). Tourn. inst. t. 118. Adans. fam. 2. p. 242. 

 Juss. gen. p. 312. Portulaca species of Lin. Meridiana, Lin. 

 et Schrank. Lemia, Vand. in Rcem. script, p. 116. t. 7. f. 15. 

 Merida, Neck. 



LIN. SYST. Octo-Dodecdndria, Monogynia. Calyx free from 

 or adhering to the ovariumat the very base, bipartite (f. 15. a.), 

 at length cut round about at the base, and falling off. Petals 

 4-6 (f. 15. 6.), equal, distinct, or joined together at the very 

 base, inserted in the calyx. Stamens 8 (f. 15. g.) -15 ; fila- 

 ments free, sometimes adnate to the bottom of the corolla (f. 

 15. g.). Ovarium roundish. Style 1 (f. 15. d.), 3-6-cleft at 

 the apex (f. 15. c.), or the style is wanting; but in this case, 

 the stigmas are 3-8 and elongated. Capsule sub-globose (f. 15. 

 y.), 1-celled, opening transversely in the middle. Seeds nu- 

 merous, fixed to a central placenta (f. 15. /.). Humble fleshy 

 herbs. Leaves scattered, quite entire, thick, usually bearing 

 hairs in the axils, crowded, or somewhat verticillated about the 

 flowers. Flowers expanding from 9 till 12 o'clock in the morn- 

 ing, if the sun shine, otherwise they remain closed. This is a 

 heterogeneous genus, and probably divisible, but easily distin- 

 guished by the capsule opening transversely. 



* Flowers yellow. Axils of leaves naked. 



1 P. OLERA'CEA (Lin. spec. p. 638.) leaves wedge-shaped, 

 fleshy; axils and joints naked ; flowers sessile. Q. H. Native 

 nearly throughout the whole world. D. C. pi. grass, t. 123. 

 Schkuhr. handb. t. 130. Petals concrete at the base. Stamens 

 10-12, adnate to the corolla. Style wat.uig. Stigmas 5, elon- 

 gated. Perhaps specifically distinct from the following varieties. 

 Blackw. icon. t. 287. 



Var. a, sylvestris (D. C. prod. 3. p. 353.) stem and branches 

 prostrate and trailing. 0. H. Native of Europe, in cultivated 

 fields ; and very common in Java (ex Blum.) ; in North Ame- 

 rica, about Norway House, and banks of the Hill river (Hook). 

 Smith, fl. grsec. 457. Lob. icon. t. 388. P. oleracea, Haw. 

 misc. p. 126. syn. p. 122. 



Var. fl, saliva (D.C. prod. 3. p. 353.) stems diffuse ; branches 

 erectish. O- H. Native of South America, and now cultivated 

 in some parts of Europe. P. domestica, Lob. icon. p. 388. P. 

 VOL. in. 



saliva, Haw. misc. p. 136. syn. 122. P. latifolia, Horn. hort. 

 hafn. 2. p. 491. There is a variety of this with green leaves 

 (P. viridis, Hortul.), and yellowish leaves (P. aurea, Hortul.). 

 The young shoots and succulent leaves are esteemed cooling, 

 and are used in spring and summer as an ingredient in salads, 

 and as pot-herbs and pickles. The plant was formerly in much 

 more request than at present. Both the green and yellow- 

 leaved sorts are raised from seed, and for a bed 4 feet by 4 feet, 

 sown either broadcast or in drills, 9 inches apart, one-eighth of 

 an ounce will suffice. " Each variety is somewhat tender ; the 

 green, which is usually preferred, is perhaps rather the hardiest. 

 An early crop may be sown in February or March, on a mo- 

 derate hot-bed ; the plants will require the aid of a gentle heat 

 till the middle of May, when the seed may be sown in a warm 

 border. If a continued succession is required, sow every month 

 during summer, till August, or while the plant can be raised ; 

 generally in small drills, from 3-6 inches asunder. The plants 

 will soon come up ; they should remain where sown. In very 

 dry hot weather, water thrice a-week. The shoots may be 

 gathered for use when they are from 2-5 inches in height, and 

 are well furnished with leaves. Cut them off low, and the 

 bottom part will soon sprout out again. When seed is required, 

 leave some of the first open border plants to run ; they will 

 give ripe seed in autumn." 



Cultivated or Common Purslane. Fl. Aug. Sept. CIt. 1582. 

 PI. prostrate or erect. 



2 P. PARVIFOLIA (Haw. syn. p. 122.) leaves cuneiform, mi- 

 nute, fleshy ; stem much branched, prostrate ; flowers sessile, 

 or on long peduncles. 0. H. Native of Jamaica. Probably 

 only a variety of P. saliva, but the plant is much smaller, and 

 the leaves are 10-times smaller. 



Small-leaved Purslane. Fl. Aug. Clt. 1799. PI. pr. 



* * Flowers yellow. Axils of leaves or joints pilose. 



3 P. FOLIOSA (Ker. bot. reg. 793.) stem diffuse; branches 

 erect ; leaves subulate ; flowers solitary at the tops or in the 

 forks of the branches, surrounded by white hairs and a many- 

 leaved involucrum ; petals retuse or a little emarginate. Q. F. 

 Native of Guinea, near Accra. P. Guineensis, Spreng. There 

 is a plant figured in fl. mex. of Moc. et Sesse, called by them 

 P. stelliformis, a native of Mexico, which is very like this spe- 

 cies. Flowers small, yellow. 



Leafy Purslane. Fl. June, July. Clt. 1822. PI. i to \ ft. 



4 P. SUFFRUTICOSA (Wight, ex Wall. cat. 6842.) shrubby, 

 branched ; leaves linear, nearly terete, glabrous or downy ; flow- 

 ers solitary at the tops of the branches. Jj.D. S. Native of the 

 East Indies. Flowers surrounded by a whorl of leaves. 



Suffruticose Purslane. Fl. Ju. Jul. Shrub 1 foot. 



5 P. LANUGiN6sA (H. B. et Kunth, nov. gen. amer. 6. p. 74.) 

 stems procumbent, branched ; leaves terete, obtuse, upper ones 

 in whorles ; flowers in clusters of 2-5, surrounded by soft hairs ; 

 petals obovate-spatulate, obtuse. . F. Native of South 

 America, on the banks of the Amazon. Style 1 ; 3-5 -cleft at 

 the apex. Petals 4-5, yellow. 



Woolly Purslane. PI. pr. 



6 P. MARGINA'TA (H. B. et Kunth, 1. c. p. 72.) stems rather 

 dichotomous ; leaves cuneately spatulate, rounded at the apex, 

 subverticillate, obsoletely veined, margined with red; axils 

 hairy; flowers 5-7 in each head, involucrated. . F. Native 

 near Caraccas, in Venezuela. Said to be allied to P. oleracea. 

 Flowers yellow. 



Margined-leaved Purslane. PI. pr. 



7 P. LARCOTTEA'NA (St. Hil. fl. bras. 2. p. 190.) stem suf- 

 fruticose at the base, pilose in the axils of the leaves ; leaves 

 lanceolate, flattish, narrowed at the base, acute, longer than the 

 hairs ; flowers crowded at the tops of the branches ; petals ob- 



