Salsola Kali L. var. tenuifolia G. F. W. Meyer. Russian Thistle. 



First noticed in the state at Lancaster, in the Mojave Desert, in 189S, where it 

 was already widely diffused, and believed to have been introduced about ten years 

 previously by cattle cars.-" San Bernardino, first in 1891. Now frequent in stubble 

 fields and pastures and along roadsides, and rare in unbroken grounds, but not 

 proving so obnoxious as in some other parts of the country. Records in central 

 California date between 1900 and 1911. Introduced in the United States at South 

 Dakota in 1873.-' Native of Russia. 



AMARANTHACEAE 

 Amaranthus blitoides Wats. 



Infrequent in cultivated soils. Santa Monica, Davidson in 1892, and Lancaster, 

 Mojave Desert, in 1897. Rialto and Santa Monica, ace. Abrams' Flora Los Ang. 

 Ontario region, Johnston in 1918. Occasional in central California. Native of 

 Mexico and some of the western states. 

 Amaranthus deflexus L. 



Abundantly naturalized in the streets of Santa Barbara, Parish in 1916. Ad- 

 ventive further south. Los Angeles, Braunton in 1902, and Davidson in 1918. Re- 

 dondo, Greata. Along the railway, Ontario, Johnston in 1917, and Pomona in 1918. 

 An abundant street weed in the Monterey and San Francisco regions, whence it 

 probably reached the south. Native of Europe. 

 Amaranthus graezicans L. Tumble-weed. 



Abundantly naturalized in cultivated and waste grounds. In the San Jacinto 

 Mts., Strawberry Valley, 5,300 ft. alt., Hall in 1901. Mojave Desert; Panamint 

 Mts., Coville & Funston in 1891. Victorville, Parish in 1913. Colorado Desert; 

 Mecca, a few plants in a cultivated field. Parish in 1913. Native of Europe. 

 Amaranthus hybridus L. Green Amaranth. 



A common weed in cultivated and waste grounds, and by roadsides. Native of 

 tropical America. 

 Amaranthus retroflexus L. Pig-weed. 



Distribution as of the preceding species, and like the last two, common through- 

 out the state. Native of tropical America. 

 AJternantha achyrantha R. Br. 



Los Angeles, Nevin & Oliver in 1884, and Davidson in 1892. Not otherwise known 

 from the state. Native of Mexico. 



PHYTOLACCACEAE 

 Phytolacca decandra L. Poke. 



Santa Monica, a single plant, Hasse in 1860; not since collected, and probably a 

 waif. Naturalized in some localities of central California. Ukiah, Purdy in 1907. 

 Lake County, Vaslit. Native of the eastern states. 



AIZOACEAE 

 Tetragona expansa Murr. New Zealand Spinach. 



Abundant on the beach at Santa Barbara, Parish 1916, 1918. Also on the beaches 

 at Monterey and San Francisco. A naturalized escape from cultivation. Native 

 of the Australian Region. 

 Mesembrianthemum coccineum Haw. 



A locally established escape in the hills near Del Mar, San Diego County, Mrs. 

 Spencer in 1918. Not otherwise known in the state. Native of South Africa. 

 Mesembrianthemum edule L. 



Commonly cultivated as a sand-binder about houses on the Los Angeles 

 beaches, and escaping into the dunes. Playa del Rey, in 1918. Native of South 

 Africa. 



PORTULACACEAE 

 Portulaca oleracea L. Purslane. 



Abundantly naturalized in cultivated and waste grounds. In the Colorado 

 Desert, infrequent about habitations, at Brawley and Mecca, in 1913. Purslane it. 

 found throughout the world, except at high altitudes, a distribution not exceeded 

 by any other cosmopolitan plant. From very early times it was in use as a pot- 

 herb, and was cultivated for this purpose by the ancient Greeks,-' as it long con- 

 tinued to be in Europe. It is reported to have been cultivated in Massachusetts in 

 1672,-- and the spontaneous weed is occasionally boiled and eaten by the poorer 

 Mexicans in California. Sir Joseph Banks, who observed it on the islands of Ascen- 

 cion and St. Helena, accounts for its presence in such remote places, by "the 

 ancient custom of the Portuguese, who, finding this herb particularly beneficial 

 in complaints contracted in long voyages, made a point of sowing it wherever they 

 went ashore. "-'' It had certainly reached America before its discovery by Colum- 



2»Shinn, C. H. Univ. Cal. Agric. Exp. Sta. Bull. 107:10-13. 1895. 



='Dewey, L. H. U. S. Dept. Agric. Dept. Bot. Bull. 15:12. 1894. 



^'Theophrastus, Enquiry into Plants, VII, 1, 3; 2, 9. Hunt's Ed. 2:61; 75. 1916. 



"Pammell, L. H. Weed Flora of Iowa. 763. 1913. 



=3Banks, J. Journal Voyage 1768-71. Hooker's Ed. 484. 1898. 



=*Navarrete. Coleccion de las Vieges 1:41. 1825. "Hallo verdolagos munchos." 



15 



