POLYGONACE^ 185 



annual, much branched at the base, and the small leaves are linear, obtuse, 

 fleshy, and soft. Ripe perianth very hairy, with obtuse lobes. 



SALICORNIA L. MARSH-SAMPHIRE. 



S. herbacea L. Glasswort. A glabrous, bright green or reddish, succulent, 

 erect annual or biennial, 6-12 in. high, with erect jointed branches ending in a 

 spike to i in. long. Flowers very minute, 6 in each segment, 3 in a triangle on 

 each side. 



Salt marshes and near brackish water. August-October. 



S. perennis Mill. = S. radicans Sm. (root-stock perennial, woody and 

 creeping ; plant often reddish), S. fruticosa L. (bushy, erect, 1-3 ft. high), and 

 S. glauca Delile (with strongly tubercled seeds) are found in similar situations, 

 sometimes growing together, as at la Plage d'Hyeres and la Plage de Giens. 



SU/EDA Forsk. SEABLITE. 



S. fruticosa Forsk. Shrubby Seablite. A branching, erect, shrubby plant, 

 1-3 ft. high, with woody stems. Leaves numerous, linear, rounded at base and 

 tip, thick and succulent, pale green. Flowers small, sessile in the leaf axils. 

 Styles 3, rather longer than the perianth. Seed vertical. 



Places near the sea, rare. June-September. Formerly near Toulon and 

 near Antibes but perhaps extinct. 



S. maritima Dumort. A much smaller annual or biennial species with 

 herbaceous stem, leaves tapering at the base, styles 2 and seed horizontal ; it is 

 common on the littoral of the Var and again east of Nice. 



S. splendens G. G. is a rare glaucous, pulverulent species with acuminate 

 mucronate leaves found at Castigneaux near Toulon, and in the salt marshes 

 below Hyeres. June-September. 



SALSOLA L. 



S. Kali L. Prickly Saltwort. A glabrous annual, 6-12 in. high, with hard, 

 much-branched stem. Leaves ending in a stout prickle, the lowest linear, 

 slightly enlarged at the base, the uppermost shorter and broader and nearly 

 triangular. Flowers sessile in the upper axils. 



Sea-sands. Common in the Var and from Cannes to Menton. August- 

 September. 



S. Soda L. Annual, glabrous and glossy. Stem robust, branched from 

 the base. Leaves fleshy, soft, long, half cylindrical, sub-obtuse or ending in a 

 fine spine. Flowers solitary or in pairs. Fruiting perianth big, inflated, mem- 

 branous, with lanceolate lobes and short dorsal wings. 



Salt marshes, borders of ditches, and brackish water. June-September. 



POLYGONACE^E. 



Sepals 5, subequal. Fruit compressed or 3-gonous, wingless POLYGONUM. 



Sepals 6, 3 inner ones much larger. Fruit 3-gonous RUMEX. 



RUMEX L. DOCK. 



R. intermedius DC. Plant 1^-2 ft. high. Leaves lanceolate, sagittate, 

 narrow, with long auricles, which are much spreading and often bifid. Flowers 

 whitish, in a dense, short panicle. 



Dry, rocky places and stony hill-sides. May-June. 



R. bucephalophorus L. A small slender annual, 3-12 in. high, often 

 reddish. Leaves small, oval-lanceolate, entire. Inner divisions of perianth 

 toothed and spiny at the base. 



Barren fields, sandy hill-sides ; common and variable. April-July. 



The following species of Rumex are more or less common : 



R. SCUtatus L., only in stony places in the hills; R. acetosa L., R. 



Acetosella L., R. pulcher L., R. Friesii G. G., R. sanguineus L., R. 



conglomeratus Murr., and R. crispus L. 



