46 MOKANDRIA MONOGYNIA. [cLr I. 



of this genus are employed on the coasts of the Mediterranean for 

 making Barilla. Eng. Bot. vol. vi. pi. 415. Eng. Fl. vol. i. p. 2. A 

 variety with procumbent stems has been described as a distinct 

 species, under the name of S. procum'bens. Eng. Bot. vol. xxxv. 

 pL 2475. Eng. Fl. vol. i. p. 2. 1. 

 2. S. rddicans. Creeping Jointed Glassicort or Saltwort. Stem 

 woody, procumbent and rooting at the base, erect above ; joints com- 

 pressed, notched, their intervals somewhat cylindrical ; spikes ob- 

 long ; stamens two. About a foot long : upper part of the stem 



herbaceous and erect with opposite branches : spikes obtuse : stigma 

 deeply divided into two or three segments. Perennial : flowers in 

 August and September : grows on muddy sea-shores : not frequent. 

 Eng. Bot. vol. xxiv. pi. 1691. Eng. Fl. vol. i. p. 3. 2. 



2. HIPPI7PJS. MARE'S-TAIL. 



Calyx a mere border, crowning the germen. Corolla none. 

 Filament superior, longer than the calyx. Anther two-lobed, 

 compressed. Style awl-shaped. Stigma simple, acute. Seed oval, 

 naked. Name from hippos, a horse, and oura, a tail. 2. 



\.H.vulgdris. Mares-tail. Leaves linear, in whorls. From 



one to two feet high : root creeping : stem erect, simple, jointed : 

 leaves linear, smooth, acute, arranged in numerous whorls, each con- 

 sisting of about twelve : flowers axillar, solitary, sessile : germen 

 egg-shaped : anther very large, red. Perennial : flowers in May 

 and June : grows in pools and marshes : common. Eng. Bot. vol. xi. 

 pi. 763. Eng. Fl. vol. i. p. 4. 3. 



3. ZOSTE'RA. SEA-GRASS. 



Calyx none, excepting the base of the leaf, inclosing the spike- 

 stalk, and splitting lengthwise. Corolla none. Spadix linear 

 bearing numerous flowers. Anther oblong, one-celled, attached 

 laterally. Germen egg-shaped, sessile. Style simple, curved out- 

 wards. Stigmas two, thread-shaped, curved. Drupe cylindrical. 

 Nut elliptical, striated. Kernel of the same form. Name from 

 zoster, a belt. Removed by some botanists to the class 

 Monoecia. 3. 



1. Z. marina. Grass Wrack or Sea-grass. Leaves entire, obscurely 



three-ribbed, linear; stem slightly compressed. Leaves very 



long, grass-green, obtuse : spadix pale green. Perennial : flowers 

 in August : grows on sandy shallows and banks in the sea, and is 

 thrown up abundantly after storms. When dried after being steeped 

 in fresh water, the leaves form excellent bedding ; they are also used 

 for packing. The lower part of the stem, which is of a reddish brown 

 colour, contains much saccharine matter, and is chewed by the He- 

 bridians, like the root of Orobus tuberosus. Eng. Bot. vol. vii. pi. 467. 

 Eng. Fl. vol. i. p. 5. 4. 



4. CHA'RA. STONEWORT. 



Calyx none. Corolla none. Anther sessile, globose, one-celled. 

 Germen egg-shaped, spirally grooved. Style none ; stigma in 

 five divisions. Berry egg-shaped, containing numerous minute 

 spherical seeds. This genus is by most botanists referred to the 

 class Cryptogamia. Name of unknown origin. 4. 



