FAMILIES OF FLOWERING PLANTS 
97 
our common North American representative of the family (Phytolacca 
ee 
Fig. 80. The carpetweed (Mollugo verticillata) 
showing enlarged flower and section of fruit. After 
Britton & Brown, Ill. Fl. Northeast. U. S. 
wy 
is a familiar plant along the south- 
ern seacoast. By far the largest 
genus is Mesembryanthemum, vari- 
ous species of which are cultivated 
in gardens, M. crystallinum being 
the well known “ice plant.” It is 
a curious feature of distribution 
that two species of this genus oc- 
cur on the islands off the coast of 
California, while the remainder are 
confined almost exclusively to the 
Old World. The family is also 
known by the name Ficoideae. 
Family Portulacaceae. FPor- 
tulaca Family. Contains about 20 
genera and 175 species, largely 
American, and always showing an 
affinity for dry and arid regions, 
their succulent and fleshy herbage 
amount of drought. 
decandra), furnish a most pala- 
table dish when the young 
shoots are boiled like Aspara- 
gus. The berries yield a dark 
red dye. 
Family Aizoaceae. Carpet- 
weed Family. Consists of 22 
genera and about 500 species, 
natives chiefly of warm regions. 
They are nearly all herbs of in- 
significant aspect, usually pros- 
trate and diffusely branched, 
with opposite or whorled leaves 
and small perfect flowers, mostly 
destitute of petals. The ovary 
is free from’ the calyx and sev- 
eral-celled, becoming a capsule 
in fruit, The common carpet- 
weed (Mollugo verticillata) is 
shown in Fig. 80. Sesuviwm 
Portulacastrum, the sea purslane, 
Fig. 81. 
. Lewisia rediviva, a piant of the 
enabling them to withstand any Family Portulacaceae, nearly natural size. 
They are original. 
