152 



FICOIDE.E. II. TETRAGONIA. III. SESUVIUM. 



Chili, about Conception, and Valparaiso. Murr. comm. goett. 

 1783. t. 5. Scop. inst. t. 14. D. C. pi. grass, t. 114. T. cor- 

 nuta, Gsertn. fruct. 2. p. 179. f. 3. T. Japonica, Thunb. jap. 208. 

 T. halimif olia, Forst. prod. p. 223. Roth, abb. t. 8. Demidovia 

 tetragonoides, Pall. hort. dem. t. 1. Stamens 4-5 in each fascicle, 

 1 fascicle in every recess of the calyx. From all the species this 

 differs in the cells of the pericarp being double the number of 

 calycine lobes, not equal to them in number, as in the rest of the 

 species. The New Zealand spinach is a spreading, rather prostrate 

 plant, with yellow flowers, and leaves an inch and a half long. 

 The whole plant is studded with very minute crystalline dots. It 

 is a native of New Zealand, by the sides of woods, in bushy sandy 

 places, and though not used by the inhabitants, yet, being con- 

 sidered by the naturalist who accompanied Cook, as of the same 

 nature as the Chenopodium, it was served to the sailors boiled 

 every day at breakfast and dinner. It was introduced to this 

 country by Sir Joseph Banks in 1772, and treated as a green- 

 house plant; but it has been found to grow in the open garden 

 as freely as the kidney-bean or nasturtium, and has been used 

 as a spinach plant. In the Earl of Essex's family, at Cashio- 

 bury, no other spinach was used during the whole summer of 

 1821, and it is now commonly cultivated for that purpose. It 

 grows so fast that a few plants will suffice for a large family. 

 There are three varieties of this species found in Chili : 1. with 

 leaves smooth on both surfaces : 2. with leaves hoary beneath : 

 and 3. a small grabrous variety. 



Expanded Tetragonia or New Zealand Spinach. Fl. Aug. 

 Sept. Clt. 1772. Pl.pr. 



2 T. CRYSTA'LLINA (Lher. stirp. nov. 1. p. 81. t. 39.) plant 

 herbaceous, pruinose ; leaves ovate, sessile ; flowers almost ses- 

 sile ; fruit tetragonal, incurved, 4-seeded. Q. or Jj . F. Na- 

 tive of Peru and Chili, about Valparaiso and Coquimbo. D. C. 

 pi. grass, t. 34. Calyx 3-4-lobed. Stamens 3-4 in each fas- 

 cicle, 1 fascicle in each recess of the calyx. 



Crystalline Tetragonia. Fl. June. Clt. 1788. PI. | foot. 



3 T. ECHINA'TA (Ait. hort. kew. 2. p. 177.) plant herbaceous ; 

 leaves petiolate, ovate-rhomboid ; flowers on short pedicels ; 

 fruit echinated, 3-4-seeded. Q. or $ . F. Native of the Cape 

 of Good Hope. D. C. pi. grass, t. 113. Calyx 3-4-lobed. 

 Stamens 3-4, 1 in each recess of the calyx. Calyx beset with 

 crystalline papulae. 



Echinatcd-frmted Tetragonia. Fl. May, Aug. Clt. 1774. 

 PI. | foot. 



SECT. II. TETRAGONOCA'RPOS (from rtrpa, tetra, four, yiai'ia, 

 gonia, an angle, and icapTroc, karpos, a fruit ; in reference to the 

 fruit being usually furnished with 4 wings). Comm. ex D. C. 

 prod. 3. p. 452. Stamens disposed in 1 series at the base of 

 the calycine lobes. Fruit usually winged. Herbaceous, peren- 

 nial, or suffruticose plants. Flowers on long pedicels. 



4 T. HIRSU'TA (Lin. fil. suppl. 258.) plant herbaceous, de- 

 cumbent; leaves ovate, villous, sessile; flowers 3 together, on 

 short pedicels ; fruit tetragonal, with a wing on each angle, 4- 

 seeded. I/ . D, G. Native of the Cape of Good Hope. Thunb. 

 fl. cap. 408. Stamens numerous, inserted in the middle of the 

 calyx by bundles, as described by Thunberg. Perhaps not 

 distinct from T. villosa, Poir. diet. 7. p. 604. 



Hairy Tetragonia. PI. decumbent. 



5 T. SPICA'TA (Lin. fil. suppl. 258.) plant herbaceous, erect; 

 leaves petiolate, glabrous : lower ones ovate : upper ones lan- 

 ceolate ; flowers pedicellate, branched. If.. D. G. Native of 

 the Cape of Good Hope. Thunb. fl. cap. 409. where it is called 

 T. racembsa. Pedicels numerous, aggregate. 



Spiked-dowered Tetragonia. Fl. Jul. Clt. 1795. PI. 1 ft. 



6 T. HERBA'CEA (Lin. spec. 687.) plant somewhat herbaceous, 

 rather decumbent, smooth ; leaves ovate, petiolate ; flowers on 



long pedicels ; fruit 4-winged, 4-6-seeded ; root strumose. 11 . 

 D. G. Native of the Cape of Good Hope. Thunb. fl. cap. 409. 

 Haw. misc. 121. Comm. hort. amst. 2. t. 102. Pedicels 1-3 

 together, nearly an inch long. Flowers 4-cleft, but the terminal 

 ones are 5-cleft. Root fleshy. 



Herbaceous Tetragonia. Fl. Ju. Jul. Clt. 1752. PI. dec. 



7 T. DECU'MBENS (Mill. diet. no. 2.) plant suffruticose, de- 

 cumbent, pruinose ; leaves on short petioles, obovate-oblong ; 

 flowers 3 together on short pedicels ; fruit 4-5-angled, with a 

 wing on each angle. Tj . D. G. Native of the Cape of Good 

 Hope. D. C. pi. grass, t. 23. Mill. fig. t. 263. f. 1. Flowers 

 4-5-cleft. Styles 4-5. Calyx and anthers of a pale sulphur 

 colour. 



Decumbent Tetragonia. Fl. Jul. Sept. Clt. 1758. Sh. dec. 



8 T. FRUTICOSA (Lin. spec. 687.) shrubby, erect; leaves ob- 

 long, on very short petioles ; flowers 1 or 3 together, on short 

 pedicels ; fruit bluntly 3-4-angled, each angle furnished with a 

 wing. J? . D. G. Native of the Cape of Good Hope. Comm. 

 hort. amst. 2. t. 103. Seba, thes. 2. t. 11. f. 8. Haw. misc. 

 p. 120. Mill. fig. 2. t. 263. f. 2. Calyx green without and 

 yellow within. 



Shrubby Tetragonia. Fl. Jul. Sept. Clt. 1712. Sh. 2 to 4 ft. 



9 T. TETRA'PTERIS (Haw. misc. p. 121.) plant suffruticose, 

 erect ; leaves oblong-lanceolate, nearly sessile ; flowers pedicel- 

 late, racemose ; fruit furnished with 4 large wings, and other 4 

 alternate small ones. Tj . D. G. Native of the Cape of Good 

 Hope. Tetrapteris, &c. Pluk. amalth. t. 200. Nut 4 seeded. 



four-winged-fruited Tetragonia. Fl. July, Sept. Clt. 1794. 

 Shrub 1 to 2 feet. 



10 T. LINEA V RIS (Haw. rev. p. 73.) plant shrubby and dif- 

 fusely decumbent ; leaves linear, rather revolute at the sides, 

 engraven above by a dorsal line ; flowers terminal, racemose. 

 Tj . D. G. Native of the Cape of Good Hope. Leaves greenish. 



Ztnear-leaved Tetragonia. Fl. Sept. Clt. 1819. Sh. dec. 



11 T. OBOVA'TA (Haw. rev. p. 73.) plant suffruticose, decum- 

 bent, pruinose ; leaves obovate or oval ; petioles winged, stem- 

 claspinsr, somewhat decurrent. T? . D. G. Native of the Cape 

 of Good Hope. Flowers unknown. Very like T. decumbens, 

 but one half larger. 



Oiornte-leaved Tetragonia. Clt. 1821. Shrub dec. 



Cult. The same culture, propagation, and treatment as that 

 recommended for Mesembryanthemum will suit the species of 

 Tetragonia. The T. expansa, when wanted for spinach, may 

 be planted out in the open ground, about April or May. 



III. SESLTVIUM (a name not explained by the author). Lin. 

 gen. 624. Lam. ill. t. 434. D. C. prod. 3. p. 453. 



LIN. SYST. Icosdndria, Tri-Pentagynia. Calyx 5-parted, 

 permanent ; lobes coloured on the inside. Petals wanting. 

 Stamens 15-30, inserted at the top of the calycine tube, which 

 is short. Ovarium distinct, sessile. Style wanting. Stigmas 

 3-5. Capsule 3, rarely 4-5-celled, circumcised, having the pla- 

 centiferous axis permanent. Seeds numerous. Embryo hooked. 

 Smooth fleshy herbs, inhabitants of the sea-side ; with oppo- 

 site, quite entire, veinless leaves ; and axillary, solitary, alternate 

 flowers, which are either sessile or on short pedicels. Calyx 

 purplish inside. 



1 S. PORTULACA'STRUM (Lin. spec. 446. exclusive of the syn. 

 of Rumphius) leaves linear or lanceolate-oblong, flat ; flowers 

 pedicellate. I/ . IX G. Native of the West Indies, Mexico, 

 and Senegal, by the sea-side. Plum. ed. Burm. t. 223. f. 2. 

 Jacq. amer. t. 95. Aizoon Canariense, Andr. bot. rep. 201. 

 Calyx green outside, and reddish within. Stamens 25-30. 



Var. a, pedunculdtmn ; flowers pedicellate. S. pedunculatum, 

 Pers. ench. 2. p. 39. Lam. ill. t. 434. f. 1. 



Var, /3, sessile; flowers nearly sessile. S. sessile, Pers. ench. 



