154 THE TASMANIAN FLORA. 



slender stalks of 1 lire long or under, each one solitary in the leaf-axils, often 

 numerous along the branches. Perianth-segments broad, under ^ line long. 

 Stamens about 1 line long. Fruit 1^-2 lines broad. 



Near Launceston, Kelvedon, Islands of Bass Straits ; also in South Australia 

 and West Australia. Fl. summer. 



Okdeb hXl.— CHENOPODIACE^. 



Perianth of 5 segments or lobes, rarely fewer, herbaceous, rarely partially 

 scarious. Stamens 5, or rarely fewer, opposite the perianth-lobes, and inserted 

 close to their base. Ovary free, 1-celled, with a single ovule. Styles or style- 

 branches 2 or .3. Fruit fleshy or membranous, forming a closed sack round the 

 seed, and surrounded more or less by the persistent perianth. 



The order is large, and has a world-wide distribution. 



Leaves broad. 



Fruit orange or red, berry-like ... ... ... 1. Mhagodia. 



Prnit dry, enclosed i)i perianth. 



Flowers bisexual. Perianth not much altered in 



fruit ... ... ... ... ... ... 2. Chenopodium... 



Flowers unisexual. Fruiting-perianth enlarged, 



flat, of 2 parts .. ... ... .., ... 3. Atriplex. 



Leaves linear, nearly cylindrical. 



Leaves under \ inch. Flowers solitary in the axils 4. Threlheldia.. 

 Leaves ^-1 inch long. Flowers usually clustered 



in the axils .. . ... ... ... ... ... 5. Suieda. 



Plant leafless, fleshy, segmented ... ... ... 6. Salicornia. 



I. RHAGODIA. 



Perianth deeply divided into 5 segments, scarcely enlarging in fruit. Stamens 

 5 or fewer. Filaments flattened. Fruit a small, depressed, berry-like utricle,, 

 asually much larger than the perianth, but sometimes enclosed in it. Flowers 

 usually bisexual, but not always so. 



The genus is conflned to Australian distribution, and difEers from Chenopodmm 

 in little beyond the fruit. 



Plant coarse. Leaves oblong. Flowers many ... 1. R. billardieri. 

 Plant slender. Leaves angled. Flowers few ... 2. R. nutans. 



1. R. Bij.LARDlEBl, R. Bv. A diffused or sub-erect, spreading shrub, often 

 4 or 5 feet high, young parts and inflorescence covered with mealy scales. 

 Leaves variable, mostly narrow-oblong and narrowed into a stalk, sometimes 

 broader with 2 obtuse lobes towards the base, |-1 inch long, margin often 

 recurved, consistency fleshy, green above, pale beneath. Flowers small^ 

 numerous, in rather slender compound panicles towards the ends of the branches, 

 the stamens and pistil not always perfect in the same flower, when open usually 

 under 1 line diameter. Fruit nearly globular, about 2i lines long, deep red,, 

 very fleshy, much exceeding the perianth. R. haccata. Hook. 



Very common on all the coasts ; also throughout Australia. Fl. Nov. 



2. R. NUTANS, R. Br. A slender much-branched perennial, prostrate 

 diffuse, or the filiform branches climbing up undergrowth often for several feet. 

 Leaves mostly broadly hastate, but the upper and lower ones often lanceolate, 

 stalked, \-l inch long, mostly opposite. Flowers in small interrupted spikes,, 

 simple or compound panicles, towards the ends of the branches. Perianth, when 

 open, about | line diameter. Staminate flowers with 2 or 3 stamens and a 

 rudimentary pistil. Pistillate flower with only 1 or no stamen. Fruit variable 

 m size, often 1^-2 lines diameter, depressed, globular, pericarp thin, inflated, 

 orange-red. 



Veiy common; also throughout Australia. Fl. Nov, 



