PoRTULACA. PORTULACACE^. 109 



1. PORTULACA. Toum. ; Endl. gen. 5174. PURSELANE. 



[ The name is of uncertain meaning,] 

 Sepals 2, united below, and cohering with the base of the ovary ; the upper portion at length 

 separating from the lower near the base, by a transverse line. Petals 4-6, inserted on 

 the calyx, equal. Stamens 8 - 20. Style 3 - 6-cleft at the apex, or parted. Capsule 

 ovoid-globose, dehiscing transversely near the middle. Seeds numerous, on filiform funiculi. 

 — Humble fleshy herbs. Leaves scattered, often whorled near the flower, frequently with 

 a tuft of hairs in the axils. Flowers axillary, in the forks of the stem, or crowded at the 

 summit of the branches, expanding only in the morning sun, very fugacious. 



1. PoRTULACA OLERACEA, Limi. Common Purselam. 



Stem diffuse ; leaves cuneiform, the axils and nodes naked ; flowers sessile ; petals 5, 

 cohering at the base ; stamens 10-12; style almost wanting; stigmas 5, distinct. — DC 

 plant, gras. t. 123, and prodr. 3. p. 353 ; Ell. sk. l.p. 534 ; Bigel. fl. Bost. p. 188 ; Bar- 

 hngt. ft. Cest. p. 314 ; Torr. ^ Gr. fl. N. Am. 1. p. 196. 



Annual. Stem fleshy, spreading on the ground, with the branches somewhat assurgent. 

 Flowers in axillary and terminal clusters, small, yellow. Seeds reniform, with a short beak 

 on one side, blackish, finely granulated. 



Very common in gardens and waste places ; doubtless an introduced plant in the Atlantic 

 States, but apparently indigenous towards the Rocky Mountains. Flowers from July to 

 August. Formerly used as a potherb and for pickHng, but now not much esteemed for these 

 purposes. 



2. CLAYTOMA. Linn. ; Endl. gen. 5180. ,^^,^.^ ^^^^,^. 



[ In honor of John Clatton, a botanist of Virginia, who sent plants to Gronorius.] 

 Sepals 2, persistent, distinct or united at the base, ovate, mostly obtuse. Petals 5, hypo- 

 gynous, unguiculate, the claws more or less united at the base. Stamens 5, inserted on 

 the claws of the petals. Styles 3-cleft ; the divisions stigmatose inside. Capsule S-valved, 

 2 - 5-seeded. Seeds turgid, smooth or punctate, shining.— Smooth and rather succulent 

 herbs. Stems simple, with a pair of opposite somewhat connate leaves (or with several 

 alternate ones) ; radical leaves on long petioles. Racemes often one-sided. Flowers rose- 

 color or white. 



