466 



CVI. CHENOPODIACE^E. 



SALICORNIA. 



base of the stem. Calyx dull purple, of a leathery texture, tubular, bent almost 

 double, gibbous at the base and at the angle, limb 2-lipped, upper lip 2-lobed. 



Capsule obovate, 6-angled, 6 9" long, with numerous small seeds. June. 



The dried root is a valuable stimulant, diaphoretic and tonic, containing cam- 

 phor. It has a warm, bitter, pungent taste. 



2. A. SIPHO. L'Her. Dutchman's pipe. 



St. twining, shrubby; Ivs. ample, suborbicular, cordate, entire, acute, 

 petiolate; ped. 1-flowered, furnished with a single, ovate bract; cal. tube bent, 

 ascending, limb 3-cleft, equal. A vigorous climber in mountainous woods, 

 Western Penn. to Ky. and S. States. St. woody, twining, and ascending trees 

 30 or 40f. Leaves 612' diam., alternate, sprinkled with soft hairs. Flowers 

 solitary, the tube long and bent at nearly a right angle, in the form of a (siphon 

 or) tobacco pipe, and of a dull brown color. It is highly ornamental in culti- 

 vation, for arbors. June, j- 



ORDER CVI. CHENOPODIACEJE. CHENOPODS. 



Herbs or undershrubs, with alternate (rarely opposite) leaves without stipules. 



Fls. inconspicuous, generally perfect, often dioecious or polygamous. 



Cal. deeply divided often tubular at base, imbricate in aestivation. 



Sta. from the base of the calyx, as many as its lobes or fewer, and opposite to them. 



Ova. l, with I ovule attached to its base within. Styles 24, rarely 1. 



F}'. a utricle. Embryo usually curved around fleshy albumen. 



Genera 63, species 360, often maritime plants, and more generally weeds, abounding in the northern 

 temperate zone. 



tain 



Properties. Some are useful for food, as the beet, mangel-wurtzel, orache, spinach, fyc. Others con- 

 in an essential oil, which renders them tonic, antispasmodic and anthelmintic ; as Chenopodium 



, , ; as enopoum 



botrys, C. ambrosioides, C. anthelminticum : the latter yields the officinal worm-seed oil. Salsoli, Sali- 

 cornia and other sea-side species yield soda from their ashes in great abundance. 



FIG. 52. 1. Flower of Chenopodium album. 2. Calyx, &c., removed, showing the ovary and two 

 (hypogynous) stamens. 3. Cross section of the seed, showing the coiled embryo. 4. Branch of Salicor- 

 nia herbacea. 5. Two joints magnified. 6. Ovary of a flower. 7. Flower of Blitum capitatum, wilh 

 the fleshy calyx. 8. Vertical section of the ovary. 9. Flower of Beta vulgaris. 



'Conspectus of the Genera. 



{Fruit partly invested I Seed lenticular. Chenopodium. 7 



in calyx ( Seed renifbrm. Beta. 8 



Fr. wholly invested in cal. Lvs. subulate Salsola. 2 



Styles 1. Leafless plants. . . . Sa/icornia. 1 



Call perfect. ( Stamens 12 1 Styles 2. Leafy plants. . . . Blitum. 6 



! dioecious. ( Stigmas sessile. Leaves ovate-lanceolate. . . Acnida. 4 



I Stamens 5. ( Stig. on capillary styles. Lvs. hastate-lanceolate. . Spinacia. 3 



Flowers I polygamous. Stamens 5 Atriplev. 6 



1. SALICORNIA. 



Lat. sal, salt, cornu, horn ; in allusion both to its locality and appearance. 



Calyx turbinate, fleshy, closed, entire ; sta. 1 2; style 1, bifid ; 

 utricle invested in the calyx, 1 -seeded. Salt marsh herbs^ rarely 

 shrubby, destitute of haves. 



1. S. HERBACEA. (S. mucronata 7 Bw.} Herbaceous, Samphire or Saltwort. 



St. erect, herbaceous, spreading ; joints compressed ; internodes dilated 

 upwards, truncated ; branches numerous, opposite, light green, jointed, succu- 

 lent, smooth, terminating in a spike ; spikes lateral and terminal, tapering 

 upwards ; fls. small, sessile, about three on each side of the base of every 

 joint. A leafless plant with succulent and jointed branches, about a foot high, 

 growing abundantly on sea shores and salt marshes, N. Eng. ! to Ga. ; also, at 

 Salina, N. York. This and other species are said to make a good pickle for 

 the table. When burned, its ashes yield soda. Ang. 



