62 WEEDS AND USEFUL PLANTS. 
Oxper IX. PORTULACA’CE. (Purstane Fasy.) 
oc aaepalat 3 fleshy herbs, with r regu ular, unsymmetrical, axillary or eeirvirs usually 
ephemeral flowers. yz mostly of 2 eepal, often united below and adhering to the base 
of the. ovary. Petals 5, or rarely m numerous, Stamens paaisbile in number, op 
site t tals when of the mee nu mbe at Styles 2-8, united below. Capsze 1- celled ; 
pie tral. Seeds mostly numer 1 led around mealy albumen. 
There are some 30 get ni in the “Order—of which the plant here noticed is the ty, 
They are, however, of little 
1. PORTULA’CA, Tournef. Pursuane. 
{A name of obscure and uncertain derivation.} 
Sepals 2, partly united, and adherent to the base of the ovary,—the 
upper portion finally cireumscissed and dec one Petals a uy rn 
serted on the calyx. Stamens 8-15 or 20. Stigmas 
“em subglobose, circumscissed. Leaves scattered, often ates near the 
wers. 
1. P. olera’cea, L. Prostrate, smooth ; leaves ey eames obtuse, 
fleshy ; flowers sessile, opening only in the morn 
Por-ners Porronaca. Purslane. 
Fr. Pourpier potager, Germ, Gemeiner Portulak. Span. Verdolaga. 
12 or 15 inches long, fleshy, smooth, prostrate, branching and 
. Root annual. Stem 6- 
radicating. Leaves half an inch to an men long, alternate ea rate sagem Petals fb mios yellow. 
Gardens and cultivated grounds. Native of Europe an Fi. July-August. Fr: 
September. 
Obs. This plant, though said kobe indigenous in the far west, has 
every el it of being a natoralized stranger with us. It was often 
Fic. 41. Purslane (Portulaca oleracea).. 42. A pod, opening transversely. 
a ira 
