30 



A SYNOPSIS OF THE PLANT KINGDOM 



valvate or plicate, persistent after flowering, and often 

 woody or leathery, enveloping the fruit; stamens 1-30, 

 united at the base, unequal, hypogynous; ovary of 1 

 carpel, l-celled, 1-ovuled; style 1; stigma 1: fruit an 

 achene. 



The family has 18 genera and about 150 species, 

 principally natives of America from Colorado to Chile. 

 A few are scattered in other parts of the world. The 

 largest genus is Pisonia with 40 species; Neea has 30 

 species. The family is related to the Phytolaccacea?. 

 The floral bracts, absence of corolla, persistent peri- 

 anth enveloping the very thin-walled fruit, and the 

 1-seeded, l-celled ovary, arc distinctive 



The roots of Bcerhavia and of Mirabilis Jalapa are 

 purgative, and are sold as a substitute for jalap. The 

 foliage of several species of Bcerhavia is used as vege- 

 tables. The natives of the Hawaiian Islands catch 

 birds with the very sticky fruits of the native species. 

 The leaves of Neea theifera are used as tea in Brazil, 

 also as a black dye. 



In America 3 genera are in common cultivation: 

 Abronia, garden annuals; Bougainvillaea, greenhouse 

 shrubs; Mirabilis (Four-o'clock, Marvel of Peru). 



68. Phytolaccacese (from the genus Phytolacca, de- 

 rived from the Greek meaning plant and lac, in refer- 

 ence to the red juice of the fruit). POKEWEED FAMILY. 

 Fig. 19. Herbs, shrubs, or trees: leaves mostly alter- 

 nate, simple: flowers bisexual, rarely unisexual, regu- 

 lar; perianth of one series, divisions 4-5, separate, per- 

 sistent, not modified in fruit; stamens of the same 

 number as the parts of the perianth and alternate with 

 them, or more numerous, often connate at base, hypog- 

 ynous; disk obscure or annular; ovary usually supe- 

 rior, rarely inferior; carpels 1 to many, free, or united 

 into a several-celled ovary; ovules 1 for each carpel; 

 styles as many as the carpels: fruit a berry, utricle, 

 nut, or samara; embryo curved. 



The pokeweed family contains 22 genera and about 

 100 species, mostly of tropical arid subtropical America 

 and South Africa. One species reaches the eastern 

 United States. All the genera are small. The family is 

 related to the Aizoaeese; also to the Caryophyllaceae, 

 Chenopodiacese, Nyctaginacese, and other families 

 with curved embryos. The several 1-seeded carpels 

 and non-accrescent perianth are usually distinctive. 



The red juice of the fruit of Phytolacca decandra was 

 used by the American Indians for staining baskets, and 

 the like. The roots of this plant are medicinal (emetic, 

 cathartic), and the young shoots are eaten. 



A few genera are in cultivation in America. Among 

 these are Phytolacca (Pokeberry, Pokeweed, Scoke, 

 Garget, Pigeonberry, Inkberry), native, hardy, rarely 

 cultivated as a pot-herb; and Rivina (Rough Plant), 

 ornamental garden and greenhouse plants. 



69. Aizoacese (from the genus Aizoon, derived from 

 the Greek meaning always alivej in reference to the 

 persistence of life in desert habitats). CARPET-WEED 

 or ICE-PLANT FAMILY. Fig. 19. Erect or prostrate, 

 often fleshy herbs or sub-shrubs, either the stem or the 

 leaves, or both, curiously modified to reduce surface 

 and store water; rarely ordinary herbaceous plants: 

 leaves opposite, alternate or whorled, simple and mostly 

 entire: flowers bisexual, regular, hypogynous or epigy- 

 nous; perianth of one set of 4^-5 separate or united 

 parts; stamens 5, alternating with the perianth parts, 

 or by the splitting up of each becoming very numer- 

 ous, in which case many of the outer are changed into 

 long, showy, petaloid staminodia, the whole then some- 

 what resembling the head of an aster; ovary 2-20-celled, 

 superior or inferior; placenta axial, basal, or parietal; 

 ovules mostly numerous; stigmas 2-20: fruit capsular 

 or nut-like; embryo curved or annular. 



Eighteen genera and about 500 species are known, 

 of which 300 belong to the genus Mesembryanthemum; 

 mostly inhabitants of the desert or, at least, dry por- 

 tions of tropical and south-tropical regions. The large 



genus, Meseinbryanthemum, is almost exclusively South 

 African, but reaches the Mediterranean. One species 

 of Aizoacea; (Sesuvium) is native in the eastern United 

 States. The family is related through some genera 

 to the Phytolaccacese; through others to the Caryophyl- 

 laceoe and Portulacacete. The annular embryo places 

 the Aizoaceffi in this group. The apetalous, often 

 falsely polypetalous, flowers, wit h several-celled ovary, 

 and curved embryo, are characteristic. 



The fruits of Mesembryanthemum edule (Hottentot 

 fig) are edible. The leaves of Mesembryanthemum are 

 used as a vegetable on the borders of the African 

 desert. Tclragonia expansa (New Zealand spinach) is 

 cultivated as a pot-herb. Metembryanthemum crys- 

 tallinum (ice-plant) of the Mediterranean region, with 

 leaves covered with peculiar vesicular hairs filled with 

 a viscid liquid, which sparkles in the sunlight like frost, 

 is cultivated as a curiosity. Other species are cultivated 

 for their strange appearance. 



Many species of Mesembryanthemum (Fig. Mari- 

 gold, and Ice-plant) are more or less cultivated in 

 America; also one species of Tetragonia (New Zealand 

 Spinach, New Zealand Ice-plant). 



70. Portulacaceae (from the genus Portulaca, an old 

 Latin name of unknown origin). PUHSLANE FAMILY. 

 Fig. 19. Herbaceous orsuffruticose: leaves often fleshy, 

 sometimes connate: flowers bisexual, usually regular; 

 sepals 2; petals 4-5, rarely more, sometimes connate 

 at the base, fugaccous; stamens in 1 or 2 whorls, hy- 

 pogynous (except in Portulaca), equal in number to the 

 petals and opposite them, or double the number and 

 alternating with them, or fewer, or, by multiplication, 

 very many; ovary l-celled, with a free-central or basal 

 placenta; ovules 2 to many; style 2-3-parted: fruit a 

 capsule, opening by a valve or lid, rarely indehiscent; 

 embryo curved or annular. 



Most of the 17 genera and about 150 species an; 

 inhabitants of the warmer, dry or arid regions, for 

 which their fleshy structure and frequently prostrate 

 or caespitose habit are an adaptation. They are most 

 abundant in South America and the Cape of Good 

 Hope; also common in western North America. The 

 Portulacacea; are most closely related to the Caryo- 

 phyllacese and Aizoacea;. The 2 sepals, l-celled ovary 

 with central placenta, several styles, and curved or 

 coiled embryo are distinctive. In the common pur- 

 slane and a few other species, the capsule opens by a 

 terminal lid, which, separating along a transverse line, 

 falls off and thus allows the seeds to escape. In Por- 

 tulaca the ovary is partly inferior. 



Most of the Portulacacea! are mucilaginous; some are 

 slightly bitter and have been used as a mild tonic. The 

 herbage of Portulaca oleracea is eaten as a salad or as 

 greens, and is also said to be sedative and an antidote 

 for scurvy. Several species of Calandrinia, Talinum 

 and Claytonia, are used as pot-herbs. The roots of 

 Claytonia luberosa of Siberia are edible, as are also the 

 roots of the western Lewisia. 



About one-third of the genera are in cultivation in 

 America. Portulaca grandiflora (Rose Moss) is orna- 

 mental; P. oleracea (Purslane or Pusley) is a pot-herb; 

 the Montias are also pot-herbs. Lewisia, Talinum, 

 Spraguea and Claytonia are mostly ornamental. 



71. Basellaceae (from the genus Boaetio, the Malabar 

 name of the plant). BASELI.A FAMILY. Fig. 20. Climb- 

 ing, perennial herbs, rarely slightly woody: leaves alter- 

 nate, broad, often fleshy: flowers bisexual, regular, 2 

 bracteolate; sepals 2; petals 5, separate or connate, 

 imbricated, persistent; stamens 5, opposite the petals 

 and attached to their base; ovary superior, l-celled; 

 ovule 1, basal, curved; style and stigma 1-3: fruit, 

 indehiscent, inclosed in the corolla; embryo spiral. 



There are 5 genera and about 15 species, all except 

 one species being confined to tropical America, mostly 

 in the Andes. Boussingaultia, the largest genus, con- 

 tains 10 species. The family is related to the Cheno- 



