38 Muhlenbergia, Volume 6 



Atriplex hortensis L. I know of no plant, outside of 

 the grass family, that, with abundance of material in flower and 

 fruit, has given me as much trouble to determine to the genus 

 as has this species. It is well established about Logan, appear- 

 ing as much like a native weed as an introduced one, and cer- 

 tainly not suggesting an escape from gardens. A tall, slender, 

 erect plant, often six feet high, or more, suggesting a dock 

 (Rumex) more than an Atriplex; and upon my initial notice of 

 it and questioning of others about it, I was informed that it was 

 a dock and supposed to be Rumex Patieniia L. Upon exami- 

 nation of it, however, I soon saw that it belonged to the Cheno- 

 podiaceae; but where? for the two very different kinds of seeds 

 prevented my getting anywhere by using the various published 

 keys to the North American genera. In fact, there are three 

 well defined types of seeds in this plant, but I had observed only 

 the two more conspicuous types then. Later, Messrs. E. H. 

 Favor, H. H. Bartlett, and Aven Nelson, each independently, 

 determined the plant for me. 



These three types of seeds in the same plant are well de- 

 scribed by G. N. Collins in his paper entitled "Seeds of Com- 

 mercial Saltbushes," published as Bulletin No. 27, Division of 

 Botany, U. S. Dept. Agric. 1901. However, in order to empha- 

 size these three types further, I will characterize them briefly 

 here. The large seeds are some 4 mm. in diameter, light brown, 

 not convex with rounded edges, but slightly concave with sharp 

 edges, the embryo showing distinctly, vertical between two large, 

 thin, conspicuously veined bracts, 10x15111111. in size — these the 

 most common and conspicuous. In the type next apt to be 

 noticed, the seeds are black, lenticular, convex on both surfaces, 

 inclosed in a loose or firm transparent pericarp, horizontal, sur- 

 rounded by the five calyx segments, very much as in ceitain 

 Chenopodia. In the third type, and the one most apt to be 

 overlooked, the seed is as in the last, less than 2 mm. in diam- 

 eter, black, with loose pericarp, but vertical, between two small 

 bracts, almost, if not quite, nerveless, not over 4x5 mm. in di- 

 mensions — a well defined compromise between the other two 

 types, and certainly worthy of more attention in our text books 



