264 ORDER 22. PORTULACACE^E. 



1. SESUVIUM, L. SEA PURSELANE. Sepals 5, united below, colored 

 inside; petals 0; stamens few or many, always more than the sepals, 

 and inserted on them ; capsules (pyxis) few, 3-celled, opening trans- 

 versely like a lid ; seeds oo minute. Succulent sea-side herbs, with 

 opposite Ivs. and axillary, solitary fls. 



S portulacastrum Tourn. Lvs. linear-spatulate ; fls. sessile or short-peduncled ; 

 stam. oo- Sea-coast, in sand, N. J. to Fla. St. round, branching, smooth, thick, 

 a foot or more in length. Lvs. obtuse, tapering at base to a petiole, very thick 

 and smooth. Ped. much shorter than the leaves. Sep. rose-white inside, exceed- 

 ing the rose-colored stamens. JL, Nov. 



2. CLAYTbNIA, L. SPRING BEAUTY. Fig. 383, 384. (In memory 

 of John Clayton, one of the earliest botanists of Virginia.) Sepals 2, 

 ovate or roundish, petals 5, emargined or obtuse, stamens 5, inserted 

 on the claws of the petals ; stigmas 3-cleft ; capsule 3-valved, 2 to 

 5-seeded. Small, fleshy, early flowering plants, arising from a small 

 tuber. 



1 C. Caroliniana MX. Los. ovate-lanceolate; sep. and pet. obtuse. U A delicate 

 little plant, common in woods and rocky hills, Can. to N. Car. "W. to the Miss. 

 Rt. a compressed, brown tuber, buried at a depth in the ground equal to the 

 night of the plant. Root Ivs. very few if any, spatulate. St. weak, 2 to 3' high, 

 with a pair of opposite leaves halfway up, which are 1 to 2' by 4 to 8", entire, 

 tapering at base into the petiole. Fls. in a terminal cluster, white with a tinge 

 of red, and beautifully penciled with purple lines. Apr., May. 



2 C. Virginica L. Lvs. linear or lance-linear; sep. rather acute, pet. obovate, 

 mostly emarginate or retuse ; ped. slender, nodding. % In low, moist grounds, 

 Mid. and S. States, "W. to Mo., rare in N. Eng. Tuber as large as a hazel nnt, 

 deep in the ground. St. 6 to 10' long, weak, with a pair of opposite, very narrow 

 Ivs. 3 to 5' long. Fls. 5 10, rose-colored, with deeper colored veins, in a ter- 

 minal, finally elongated raceme. Apr., May. 



3. TALlNUM, Adans. Sepals 2, ovate, concave, deciduous ; petals 

 5, sessile; stamens 10 to 20, inserted with the petals into the torus ; 

 style trifid ; capsule subglobous, 3-valved, many -seeded. 



T. teretifolium L. St. simple or branched, short and thick; Ivs. linear, 

 crowded at the summit of the stem, on short branches ; ped. elongated ; fls. in a 

 dichotomous cyme. If. An interesting plant on rocks, Penn. to Ga. and west- 

 ward. Rhizome or perennial stem firm and fleshy, with fibrous roots. Branches 

 1 to 3' long. Lvs. 1 to 2' long, incurved, fleshy. Bracts ovate-lanceolate, min- 

 ute. Ped. 5 to 8' high, very straight, slender, and smooth. Fls. 8" broad, 

 purple, ephemeral., Stam. about 20. Caps, globular, with 35 seeds. Jn., 

 Aug. 



4. PQRTULACA, Tourn. PURSELANE. Sepals 2, the upper portion 

 deciduous ; petals 5 (4 to 6), equal ; stamens 8 to 20 ; styles 3 to 6- 

 cleft or parted ; pyxis subglobous, dehiscing near the middle, many- 

 seeded. Low, herbaceous, fleshy. Fls. expanding only in sunshine. 



1 P. oleracea L. Lvs. cuneate ; fls. sessile. CD A prostrate, fleshy weed, more 

 common in our gardens than desirable. St. thick and succulent, much branched 

 and spreading, smooth. Lvs. fleshy, sessile, rounded at the end. Fls. yellow. 

 The herbage of the plant is of a reddish-green color. Sometimes used as a pot- 

 herb. Jn., Aug. . 



2 P. grandiflora Hook. Sts. ascending, much branched, branches suberect, 

 enlarged upwards ; Ivs. linear, acute, the axils villous, with long, woolly hairs ; 

 fls. terminal, sessile, 1 or few together, surrounded by an irregular circle of leaves 



