52 CHENOPODIACE.E. Atriplex. 



% * Moiioiclous annuals, not succulent, )nostlt/ Ion; more o)' less irhite-puherulent 

 or scurf ij : leaves mostlij small : bracts not greatly enlanjed in fruit, more or 

 less iinitecl, sessile : radicle superior (except in n, 4). 



-H- Fruiting hnicts cerij small, united, ?iot indurated, ovate, entire, not margined or 

 in any way appendaged. 



4. A. pusilla, Watson. A'ery slender, much branched from the base and leafy, 

 erect, 3 to G inciies high, hoary : leaves broadly ovate to oblong-lanceolate, 2 to 4 

 lines long or the floral ones much smaller, acute, entire, sessile : flowers 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 fllling the sac ; testa 

 tlii]i. — IJev. Cheuop. 110. Ohione pusilla, Torrey ; AVatson, Bot. King Exp. 291. 



In alkaline valleys, Northwestern Nevada. 



-K ^— Fruiting bracts small, more or less united, sowewhat indurated, hcrhaccovsly 

 margined at least at tlie summit and toothed; the sides sometimes niuricate, 

 sometvhat 3-nerved : leaves alternate, not triangular or hastate. 



-H- Bracts cuneate-orblcular, less than Ih lines broad, united to above the middle, 

 only the truncate or rounded summit margined. 



5. A. truncata, Gray. Hoary, rather stout, erect and mostly strict, 1 to 3 feet 

 high, simple ur sjiaringly branched : leaves broadly ovate to lanceolate, acute, trun- 

 cate or cordate at l)ase, sessile or the lower shortly petioled, | to \\ inches long: 

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

 bracts 1| lines long, cuneate-obovate t)r 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; Watson, 1. c 111. Obione trnncaia, Torrey; AVatson, Bot. King Exp. 271. 



Frecjueut in dry valleys from Oregon to Nortlnvestern Nevada. 



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

 numerous sh'uder reddish branches nearly glabrous : stems J to 1 foot long, spread- 

 ing and decumbent : leaves 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, the rounded summit narrowly bordered with 3 to 7 small herbaceous 

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

 son, 1. c. 112. Obione microcarpa, Benth. Bot. Sulph. 48. 



Near San Diego, Specimens from the streets of San Diego {D. Cleveland) differ in being more 

 farinose, the decumbent herbaceous stems (6 inches long or less) from an a]iparently perennial 

 caudex ; fruiting bracts larger, a line broad or more, and more herbaceously margined, 3-nerved ; 

 seeil Jf line broad. They are ])erhaps A. C'oiiHeri, Dietr. 



7. A. bracteosa, Watson. Bather stout, suberect with spreading flexuous 

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

 acuminate, | to 1 inch long, acutely sinuate-dentate or the uppermost entire: 

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

 calyx deeply 5-cleft: fruiting bracts in small axillary clusters, cuneate-orbicular, 

 1 to \h lines broad, the upper rounded margin irregularly gash-toothed; the sides 

 often somewhat muricate: seed less than half a line broad. — Eev. Chenop. 115. 

 Obio?ie bracteosa, Dur. & Hilg. in Pacif. li. Eep. v. 13, t. 14. 



On Pose Creek (Heermann), 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 G lines long, a line broad or less : fruiting bracts in axil- 

 larv clusters, cuneate-orbicular, a line broad, the rounded margin reaching nearly to 



