Beta.'] 



x^-^. 



CHENOPODIACE^ : ClIENOPODEJi:. 



353 



the Beet. All yield carbonate of soda and licnce Barilla. From 

 Beet-7vots is extracted the very fine sugar now extensively ma- 

 nufactured in France. 





ji 



} 



fill 



"i-t 



y 



* Stem jointed. (^Emhri/o annular.^ 



4. Salicornia. Stam. 1 — 2. 



** Sf:em continuotts. Leaves semicyUndrical or terete, {JEmbryo spiral^ 



5. Su^oA. Segments of the perianth remaming unaltered. 



6. Salsola. Segments of the perianth at length Avith a dorsal trans- 



verse vang. 



m 



*** Stem continuous. Leaves fiat. (^Embryo annidar.^ 



f Flowers all similar and mostly perfect. 



1. Beta. Lower half of the ovary and utricle adhering to the perianth, 



2. CnENoroDiUM. Ovary and utricle free from the perianth. 



ff Flowers imperfect: all, or some of the pistillate onesy of a different form 



3. Atriplex. 



.1 



\^i^ 



^ 



k 



i 



SuB-OiiD. L CYCLOLOBE-33. Embryo annular^ curved round 



the (usually^ copious albumen, 



4 



Tribe I, CnENOPODEiE. Flowers uniform^ mostly perfect. Stem 



continuous. (Gen, 1, 2.) 



1. Beta Linn, Beet. 



Perianth single, 5-cleft, persistent. Stam. 5. Utricle reni- 

 forni, imbedded in the fleshy base of the calyx. — iSFame from the 

 Celtic hwyd^ or biadh^ food or nourishment^ being used for that 



purpose. 



I. B. vulgaris L. (common B.) ; stems erect or procumbent 

 at the base ani^^led branched, snikes lona'lsh narrow somewhat 

 erect leafy panicled, flowers 1—4 together sessile, when in fruit 

 2—3 cohering, segments at length keeled and inflexed at the 

 summit. B. maritima i. ; E. B. t. 285. 



Sea-shores, especially in a muddy scil. England ; and the south, 

 principally, of Scotland. ^ or i;. 6—9, — Root large, thick, and 

 lieshy. Stem tall. Root'leaves subovate, succulent, entire, waved, 

 upper cauline ones nearly sessile, oblong. Spikes of fiotvers numerous, 

 It^afy: leaves small, at the base of each flower or pair of flowers, which, 

 are greenish. Styles usually 2. ~ Moquhi-Tandon has at length 

 satisfied himself that the Sea-Beet is the wild form of the cultivated 

 ^eet; Smith observes that, according to Linnaeus, B. maritima dif- 



