470 CVIII. AMARANTHACE.E. AMARANTHUS. 



8. BETA. 

 Celtic bett, red ; the usual color of the beet. 



Calyx 5-sepaled ; sta. 5 ; styles 2, very short, erect, with acute stig- 

 mas ; seed reniform, imbedded in the fleshy calyx. Stems jurrowed. 

 Lvs. alternate. Fls. glomerate, green, in spikes or paniculate racemes. 



1. B. VTJLGARIS. Common Beet. Fls. in dense, sessile, axillary clusters ; lower 

 Irs. ovate ; rt. fleshy. This useful culinary is said to grow wild in S. Europe. 

 Besides its use in salads, pickles, soups, &c., the beet yields sugar equal to that 

 of the cane. There are several varieties, of which the purple-leaved is the 

 most esteemed for the kitchen, and the green-leaved for extracting sugar. Aug. 



2. B. CICLA. Scarcity. L/vs. with very thick veins ; fls. 3 together ; rts. 

 scarcely any. Native of Portugal. Root leaves stalked, those of the stem ses- 

 sile. Flowers green, numerous, in very long spikes. A culinary plant, with 

 very large leaves, used as a salad, &c. Aug. 



/?. Mangel- Wurtzel. Rt. very large. Cultivated as food for cattle, for which 

 purpose it is highly prized by many farmers. 



ORDER CVII. SCLERANTHACEJE. SCLERANTHS. 



Herbs small, inconspicuous, with opposite leaves, no stipules and minute, axillary, sessile flowers. 

 Cal. Tube urceolate, limb 4 5-toothed. 



Sta. inserted on the calyx tube, and usually twice as many as its lobes. 

 Ova. l, free, 1-seeded. Styles 2 or 1.' Fr. a utricle, in ihe hardened calyx. 

 Seed pendulous from the apex of a funiculus which arises from base of cell. 

 Embryo curved around farinaceous albumen. 

 Genera 4, species 14, natives of the northern hemisphere. 



SCLERANTHUS. 

 Gr. crK\r)pos, hard, avSos , when in fruit, the floral envelope appears hard and dry. 



Calyx persistent, 5-cleft, the tube contracted at the orifice 5 sta. 

 1 0, rarely 5 or 2 ; styles 2 ; utricle very smooth, enclosed in the calyx. 



S. ANNUUS. Common Knawel. 



St. spreading, slightly pubescent; sta. 10; cal. ofthefr. with acute, spread- 

 ing segments. (j) weed in dry fields and roadsides, N. Eng. and Mid. States. 

 Stems numerous, branching, decumbent, short, ending with leafy clusters of 

 sessile,green flowers. The leaves are numerous, linear, acute, short, opposite, 

 partially united at their basis. Fls. very small, green, in axillary fascicles. Jl. 



ORDER CVIII. AMARANTHACE^E. AMARANTHS. 



Herbs or shrubs, with opposite or alternate leaves, withoul stipules. 



Fls. in heads or spikes usually colored, generally perfect. 



Cal. Sepals 35, dry and scarious, persistent, generally with dry, colored bracts. 



Sta. 5 or some multiple of 5. distinct or monadelphous, hypogynous. 



Ova. 1, free, 1 or few-ovuled. Style 1 or none. Stigma, simple or compound. 



Fr. a utricle. Seeds pendulous. Embryo curved around farinaceous albumen. 



Genera 38, species 282, most abundant in warm latitudes. A few of them are cultivated for their richly 

 colored, imperishable flowers. Others are mere weeds. 



Conspectus of the Genera. 



(Rachis 1 ere te or furrowed Amaranthiis. 1 



(alternate. \ Rachis broad, flat and crest-form Celosia. 5 



^ Flowers paniculate Iresme. 2 



( Bracts whitish or greenish. Flowers spicate Oplotheca. 3 



opposite. ( Bracts crimson. Flowers capitate Gomphrena. 4 



1. AMARANTHUS. 



Gr. a, not, fjtapaivo), to wither; the flowers of some of the species are imperishable. 



Fls. cT 9 ; calyx deeply 3 5-parted, mostly colored, persistent ; 

 segments lanceolate, acute. cT Stamens 3 5. 9 Styles 2 3 ; cap- 

 sule 1 -celled, circumscissile ; seed 1. Herbs with alternate leaves. 

 Fls. in axillary and terminal clusters, rarely scattered. 



* Flowers triandrous. 

 \. A. ALBUS. While Cockh-comb. 

 St. obtusely angular ; Irs. obovate, retuse ; fis. triandrous, in small, axillary 



