KEY TO SPECIES. 



245 



Artificial Key to the Species of ^irtplex— Continued. 

 Foliage gray or whitish, with a fine scurf, at least on the lower surface. 



Introduced perennials; bracts thickened, either fleshy and turning red or spongy. ■■ , , oco\ 



Bracts fleshv, stronglv nerved, ovate 7. ^. semiftaccafa (p. 2bi). 



Bracts spongy, drv, fibrous, turbinate or apparently globoid 8. A. halimoides (p. iM). 



Native annuals" and perennials; bracts neither fleshy-thickened nor spongy. 

 Fruiting bracts broadest below the middle. 

 Staminate glomerules in long naked terminal spikes. 

 Leaves alternate. 



Staminate and pistillate flowers on separate plants; plant woody at 



base 38. A. nuttalh (p. 322). 



Staminate and pistillate flowers on the same plant; plant an herbaceous 



annual 10. A. mondifera (p. 265). 



Leaves mostly opposite. A Pacific Coast perennial with staminate and 



pistillate flowers on separate plants 33. A. decuTnbens (p. 311). 



Staminate glomerules in the upper leaf-axils or in spikes 1 cm. or less long. 

 Leaves coarsely toothed; bracts becoming hard and indurated (see also 



A. tatarica and A. maritima) 5. A. rosea (p. 259). 



Leaves entire; bracts not becoming hard. „ . ,r ■ , oc-i, 



Plant prostrate; root perennial, fusiform; bracts distinct to the base. ... 3. A. ealifornica (p. Zb/). 

 Plant erect or spreading; root annual, slender; bracts united to the 

 middle or above. 

 Stem simple or with a few virgate branches, the plant usually 2 to 10 



dm. high; fruiting bracts 2.5 to 5 mm. long. ., , n^rv\ 



Leaves cordate at base; bracts 4 to 5 mm. long 12. A. cordidata (p. 269). 



Leaves rounded at base; bracts 2.5 to 3.5 mm. long 13. A. tularensts (p. 271). 



Stem intricately branched throughout, the whole plant rounded, often 

 depressed, usually 0.5 to 3 dm. high; fruiting bracts 



1 to 3.5 mm. long. 



Fruiting bracts 1 to 1.5 mm. long, very smooth, pungently acute. . 14. A. pusiUa (p. 272). 

 Fruiting bracts 2 to 3.5 mm. long, at least some of them tubercu- 

 late or appendaged, obtuse to merely acute at apex. 

 Branches ascending, slender, not especiallv brittle; fruiting bracts . . , o-on 



2 to 3 mm. long. Rocky Mountains 15. A. tenuisnma (p. 273). 



Branches widelv spreading, often horizontal and the lower ones 



decumbent, brittle, breaking into joints when dry; 



fruiting bracts 2.5 to 3.5 mm. long. California 16. A. panshi (p. 274). 



Fruiting bracts broadest at or above the middle. 



Leaves cordate at base or the bracts euneate in shape and truncate at summit. 

 (All strictly annuals. A. eorrugata and A. nuttalU, 

 both dioecious subshrubs, might be sought here.) 

 Base of leaf not cordate. . 



Leaves deltoid to elliptic, 0.8 to 2 cm. wide; bracts 2 to 3 mm. long 17. A. truncata (p. 27b;. 



Leaves linear, 0.2 cm. or less wide; bracts 1.5 to 2 mm. long 18. A. wolfi (p. 279). 



Base of leaf cordate. ,„ . ., - / o■7n^ 



Bracts orbicular to oblong, with broad flat margins 19. A. graciliflora (P- 2/9;. 



Bracts globoid or euneate, not margined but mostly long-appendaged . . 20. A. saccana (p. 280). 

 Leaves not cordate at base and the bracts not euneate and with truncate 

 summit. 

 Bracts becoming hard and almost bone-like; radicle pointing downwards 

 or to one side in the embryo. Introduced weeds. 

 Terminal staminate inflorescences 1 cm. or less long; leaves sinuate or 

 repand-dentate, usually gray on both surfaces. 



Plant spreading or prostrate; bracts 6 to"9 mm. long 4. A. marilima (p. 258). 



Plant erect; bracts 4 to 6 or rarely 8 mm. long 5. A. rosea (p. 259). 



Terminal staminate inflorescences 3 to 15 cm. long; leaves deeply lobed 



or subpinnatifid, greenish above • 6. A. tatarica (p. 261). 



Bracts not becoming especially hard; radicle pointing upwards in the 

 embryo. Native species. 

 Staminate and pistillate flowers mostly mixing in the clusters. 

 Bracts irregularly toothed at summit, without wing-hke crown. 



Leaves ovate to deltoid, broad and often subhastate at base, 



mostly 1 to 4 cm. wide; bracts 4 to 8 mm. long 21. A. argentea (p. iHi). 



Leaves narrowly ovate to mostly elliptic, narrowed at the base, 0.3 



to 1 cm. wide; bracts 3 to 4 or rarely 5 mm. long. . 22. A. coronata (p. 288). 



Bracts crowned with a broad smooth wing-hke appendage 23. A. powelli (p. 290). 



Bracts flat, exactly orbicular, evenly toothed all around 26. A. elegans (p. 300). 



Staminate and pistillate flowers mostly in separate clusters, the stami- 

 nate terminal or on separate plants. 

 Leaves strongly 3-nerved from the base, ovate; bracts crowned by a 



horizontal wing-like lobe 23. A. powelli (p. 290). 



Leaves 1-nerved or the nerve obscure. 



Pistillate and staminate flowers on the same plant; leaves chiefly 

 alternate. 

 Bracts not compressed, elliptic-globose, 5 to 7 mm. long; seed 



2.5 to 3 mm. long. Perennial of the CaUfornian , „ , „„„x 



coast 24. A. UucophyUa (p. 292). 



