598 



ATZOACEAE. 



i. SESUVIUM L. Syst. Ed. 10, 1058. 1759. 



Fleshy decumbent or prostrate herbs, with opposite leaves and solitary or clustered axil- 

 lary pink or purplish flowers. Stipules none, but the petioles often dilated and connate at 

 the base. Calyx-tube top-shaped, 5-lobed, the lobes oblong, obtuse. Petals none. Stamens 

 5 60, inserted on the tube of the calyx. Filaments filiform, sometimes united at the base. 

 Ovary 3-5-celled. Styles 3-5, papillose along the inner side. Capsule membranous, oblong, 

 3-5-celled, circumscissile. Seeds round-reniform, smooth; embryo annular. 



About 4 species, natives of sea-coasts and saline regions. Besides the following, another occurs 

 in the Southern States and in the alkaline areas of the Far West. 



i. Sesuvium maritimum (Walt.) B.S.P. Sea Purslane. (Fig. 1424.) 



Pharnaceum maritimum Walt. Fl. Car. 

 117. 1788. 



Sesuvium pentandrum Ell. Bot. S. C. & 

 Ga. i: 556. 1821. 



Sesuvium maritimum B.S.P. Prel. Cat. 



N. Y. 20. 1888. 



Annual, glabrous, decumbent or as- 

 cending, rarely erect, branches 2 / -i2 / 

 long. Leaves obovate or spatulate, 

 entire, rounded or slightly emarginate 

 at the apex, narrowed into a petiole or 

 the upper ones sessile, 4 // -i2 // long; 

 flowers sessile or very nearly so, about 

 \ ff broad, mostly solitary in the axils; 

 stamens 5, alternate with the calyx- 

 lobes; capsule ovoid, about 2" high, 

 scarcely longer than the calyx. 



Sands of the seashore, eastern Long- 

 Island, N. Y., to Florida. July-Sept. 



2. MOLLUGO L. Sp. PI. 89. 1753. 



Herbs, mostly annual, much branched, with verticillate, or in some species basal or al- 

 ternate leaves, and small cymose or axillary whitish flowers. Stipules scarious, membran- 

 ous, deciduous. Calyx 5-parted. Sepals persistent, scarious-margined. Petals none. 

 Stamens 3-5, when 3 alternate with the cells of the ovary, when 5 alternate with the sepals. 

 Ovary ovoid or globose, usually 3-celled. Capsule usually 3-celled, 3-valved, loculicidally 

 dehiscent. Seeds small, the testa smooth, granular or sculptured. 



About 12 species, most of them of tropical distribution. Besides the following, another occurs 

 in the Southwestern States. 



i. Mollugo verticillata L,. Carpet- 

 weed. (Fig. 1425.) 

 Mollugo verticillata L. Sp. PI. 89. 1753. 



Prostrate, glabrous, not fleshy, much 

 branched, spreading on the ground and 

 forming patches sometimes 20' in diameter. 

 Leaves verticillate, in 5*5 or 6's, spatulate, ob- 

 ovate or linear, entire, obtuse, 6 // -i2 // long, 

 narrowed into a petiole; flowers axillary, less 

 than i" broad; pedicels filiform; sepals ob- 

 long, slightly shorter than the ovoid capsule, 

 which appears roughened by the projecting 

 seeds; seeds reniform, usually smooth and 

 shining. 



In wa_ste places and cultivated grounds, New 

 Brunswick and Ontario to Minnesota, south to 

 Florida, Texas and Mexico. Native of the 

 warmer parts of America, now widely distrib- 

 uted as a weed. Also called Indian Chickweed. 

 May-Sept. 



