34 



BRITISH FLORA 



maritima. Anatomically the plant is allied to 

 the last, but in its loosely-attached segments and 

 single-flowered, cyme-like inflorescences it is dis- 

 tinct from all other members of the sub-section 

 Erectae. It is recognized by the easily-disarticu- 

 lating (hence disarticulatd) segments and single 

 flowers. The plant is yellowish-green, the tips of 

 the branches reddish. The habit is erect, rigid, 

 much-branched, the stem 15-16 cm. high. The 

 segments are short, easily disarticulating at matu- 

 rity (2-5 mm. long). The terminal spikes are 

 short (2-6 mm. long), with 3-6 segments, the 

 lateral spikes very short (1-3 mm.). The spikes 

 contain cellules, which are spiral or spicular. The 

 plant is a herbaceous annual. 



Salicornia smithiana, Moss. ( S. procumbens, 

 Auct. p.p.). This plant is green in colour to red 

 at maturity. The habit is prostrate, then slightly 

 ascending, procumbent (hence procitmbens). The 

 stem is short, 15 cm., with few ascending branches. 

 The non-flowering segments are short, 10 mm. 

 The lower branches are longer than the upper, 

 and are arranged crosswise. There are 2 lateral 

 flowers, smaller by half than the central flower, 

 extending half-way up the segment. There are 

 no spiral or spicular cellules. The plant is a 

 herbaceous annual. 



Salicornia dolicliostachya, Moss. The habitat 

 of this plant is shingle near high-water mark. 

 The plant is green or yellowish-green. The habit 

 is prostrate. The stem is limp, or more or less 

 so, often much-branched, 5-8 cm. high. The seg- 

 ments are short or long. The spikes are very 

 long (hence dolicliostachya), 8-10 cm. long, with 

 sometimes curved, short branches, especially at 

 the base, with 15-30 segments. The lateral flowers 

 are separated by the central one, and the species 

 bridges over the perennial forms with the central 

 flower separating the lateral ones, and the annual 

 where they are not, but the central flower rests 

 on the lateral ones. The species is recognized by 

 the prostrate habit, much and irregularly branched. 

 The plant flowers in mid-August, being the first to 

 flower and fruit in the middle of September. The 

 spikes also are very long, curved, branched. The 

 plant is a herbaceous annual. 



Salicornia perennis, Mill., var. lignosa, Moss. 

 This plant is stiffer, not, or little, rooting, the stem 

 thicker, shorter, more woody below (hence lignosa). 

 The plant is a prostrate dwarf shrub, with a single 

 stem, unilateral. The branches are prostrate, and 

 have no adventitious roots. The 3 flowers in the 

 cyme are subequal, the central reaching two-thirds 

 the way up the segment. The seeds have shorter 

 hairs than in S. perennis. The plant is a herba- 

 ceous perennial. 



Salicornia perennis, Mill. = 5. radicans, Sm. = 

 S. fruticosa, Auct. The habitat of this plant is 

 salt marshes and muddy seashores. The plant 

 is often social, growing in matted clumps, and 

 (when isolated) it is a metre across. It is a tufted, 

 dwarf shrub, spreading by freely-rooting branches. 

 The root-stock is woody, creeping, perennial, with 

 herbaceous, round, barren, and flowering seg- 

 ments. The colour is browner than in 5. herbacea. 



The joints are deeply notched, hardly thickened. 

 The spikes are blunt, thick, oblong, nearly stalk- 

 less. The central flower of the cyme is slightly 

 larger than the lateral, which reach half-way up 

 the segment. The seeds are nearly globular, with 

 curved hairs, longer than in the foregoing species. 

 The plant is 6-18 in. in height, flowering from 

 August to October. It is a herbaceous perennial. 



Seablite (Su&da fruticosa, Forsk. = obtusifolia, 

 Steud.). The habitat of this plant is sandy, pebbly, 

 or shingly coasts, where the plant is a factor in 

 forming lateral banks and in protecting the coast. 

 The plant has the shrub habit. The stem is erect, 

 woody, with erect or ascending branches, hairless, 

 and rather bluish-green. The leaves are crowded, 

 fleshy, blunt, semi-cylindrical, dotted with white. 

 The flowers are in the axils, solitary or 2-3, on 

 short stalks. There are 3 styles. The seeds are 

 vertical, black, smooth, shining. The plant is 

 1-3 ft. high, and flowers from July to September 

 and October. The plant is a perennial shrub. 



Annual Seablite (Suceda maritima, Dum.). The 

 habitat of this plant is salt marshes and muddy 

 seashores. The plant is erect or prostrate in habit. 

 The stems are herbaceous, with many spreading 

 branches, hairless, bluish - green, red in late 

 autumn, branched from the base, the branches 

 slender, straggly. The leaves are tapered below, 

 more or less acute, semi-cylindrical. The flowers 

 are rarely solitary, 3-5, shortly-stalked. There 

 are only 2 styles. The seeds are horizontal, shin- 

 ing, finely furrowed, brown or black, beaked. 

 The plant is 3-18 in. high, flowering between July 

 and October, and is a herbaceous annual. 



ORDER POLYGONACE^ 



Polygonum Roberti, Lois. = P. Rail, Bab. The 

 habitat of this plant is sandy seashores. The 

 habit is prostrate. The stem is long, straggling. 

 The leaves are flat, elliptic to lance-shaped, bend- 

 ing towards the stem. The ocreae, or tubular 

 membranous stipules which surround the stem, are 

 lance-shaped, acute, with a few distant, simple 

 veins, and are at length torn. The anther-stalks 

 are broader at the base. The nut is smooth, shin- 

 ing, and longer than the perianth. The plant is 

 1-3 ft. long, flowering between July and September, 

 and is a herbaceous annual. 



Sea Knot Grass (Polygonum maritimum, L.). 

 The habitat of this plant is shingle, seashores, 

 sands of the coast. The habit is prostrate. The 

 stem is woody below, stout, rigid, darker when 

 dry, broader at the base, often buried. The leaves 

 are elliptic to lance -shaped, the nerves netted 

 below, thick, bluish -green below, leathery, the 

 edges rolled back, convex above, spreading from 

 the stem. The ocreae are lance - shaped, with 

 branched veins at length torn, silvery-white, con- 

 spicuous, membranous, large. The anther-stalks 

 are broader below. The fruit is longer than the 

 perianth. The nut is smooth, shining. The plant 

 is 3-9 in. long, flowering in August and September, 

 and is a herbaceous perennial. 



Rumex rupestris, Le Gall. The habitat of this 



