52 CHENOrODIACE.E. Alriplex. 



* * MoncBcmis annuals, not s^icadenf, viosthj low, viore or less white-jmberulent 

 or scurf 1/ : leaves mostly small: bracts not /jreatl/j cnlurtjed in fruit, more or 

 less iinifeil, sessile: radicle superior (except in ii. 1). 



-»- Fruitinij bracts very small, united, not indurated, ovate, entire, not margined or 

 in any ivay ajtpendayed. 



4. A. pusilla, Watson. Very slender, mucli branched from the base and leafy, 

 ereet, 3 tu inches high, hoary : leaves broadly ovate to oblong-lanceolate, 2 to 4 

 lines long or the floral ones much smaller, acute, entire, sessile : ilowers minute, 

 solitary, or one of each sex in the axils : calyx deeply 5-cleft : fruiting bracts half 

 a line long, acutish, compressed : styles exserted : seed nearly lilling the sac ; testa 

 i\\\ii, — lic'v. Cheno[). IIU. Ohione pusilla, Torrey ; Watson, Dot. King l-Ixp. 291. 



In nlkaliuo valK'ys, Norlliwesteru Nt^viuhi. 



+- -H- Fruitiny bracts small, more or less united, somewhat indurated, lierbaceously 

 marylned at least at the summit and toothed ; the sides sometimes muricate, 

 someivhat o-nervcd : leaves alternate, not trianyular or liastute. 



++ Bracts euneate-orblt-ular, less than l.V lines broad, united to above the middle, 

 only the truncate or rounded summit niaryined. 



5. A. tmncata, Oray. IToary, rather stout, erect anil mostly strict, 1 to 3 feet 

 hi"h, simple or sparingly branched : leaves broadly ovate to lanceolate, acute, trun- 

 cate or cordate at base, sessile or the lower shortly petioled, ^ to U inches long: 

 flower-clusters mostly axillary and androgynous: calyx usually 3- 4-cleft : fruiting 

 bracts H lines long, cuneate-obovate or fan-shaped with a narrow herbaceous 

 coarsely (3-) toothed truncate summit, the more or less thickened and convex sides 

 often somewhat muricate : seed scarcely half a line broad. — Proc. Am. Acad. viii. 

 398; AVatson, 1. c. 111. Obione tmncata, Torrey ; Watson, Bot. King Exp. 271. 



Frequent in dry valleys from Oregon to Noitlnvebtern Nevada. 



6. A. microcarpa, Dietrich. Minutely puberulent and slightly hoary, the 

 numerous slender reddish branches nearly glal)rous : stems A to 1 foot long, spread- 

 ing and decumbent : loaves oblong or oblong-ovate, 3 to 5 lines long, acute at each 

 end, sessile . flowers in small axillary clusters, the terminal ones usually more 

 staminate : calyx deeply 5-cleft : fruiting bracts round-obovate, nearly a line broad 

 or usually less, tlie rounded summit narrowly bonlered with 3 to 7 small herbaceous 

 teeth; sides frequently somewhat muricate or 1-nerved : seed \ line broad. — Wat- 

 son, 1. c. 112. Obione microcarpa, Ik-nlh. I5ot. 8ulph. 48. 



Near San Diejjo. Specimens from the streets of San Diego {D. Chrdand) ditfer in being more 

 farinose, the deeimibent lierhaceous stems (6 inclies long or less) frtmi on a]iiMicntiy [lerenniul 

 caude.x ; fruiting bnuts larger, a line broad or more, and more lierbaceously margined, 3-nerved ; 

 seeil i line broad. Tliey are iicrliaps ./. Coull,ri, liielr. 



7. A. bracteosa, Watson. Kather stout, subercct with spreading llexuous 

 branches, 2 or 3 feet high, mealy : leaves thin, sessile, lanceolate, very acute or 

 acuminate, A to 1 inch long, actitely sinuate-dentate or the uppermost entire : 

 staminate floVers in dense clusters in a naked terminal simple or compound spike : 

 calyx deeply r)-clcft : fruiting bracts in small axillary clusters, cuneate-orbicular, 

 1 to l.V lines broad, the upper rounded margin irregularly gash tocjthe.l ; the ."^ides 

 ofteji somewhat muricate: seed less than half a line broad. — iJev. Chenop. 115. 

 Obione bracteosa, Uur. & Hilg. in Pacif. P. Pep. v. 13, t. 14. 



On Pose Cieek (Ilrennann), described as forming large bushes ; near San Diego, Palmer. 



8. A. Coulteri, Dietrich. Erect, a foot or two high, slender, virgate, rigid, 

 branched and mealy : leaves lanceolate, attenuate at each end and mucronulate, 

 entire, rather thick, 4 to 6 lines long, a line broad or less : fruiting bracts in axil- 

 lary clusters, cuneate-orbicular, a line bmad, the rounded margin reaching nearly to 



