CLASSIFICATION 



2. Petals 4 to 5. Stamens 4 to many. Ovary syn- 

 carpous i-celled ; styles free. Fruit a capsule opening 

 circumcissilely. Seeds i to many, albuminous. 



It is chiefly an American Order. It is represented 

 in Bengal by three species of nunia-shag, namely, 

 Portulaca oleracea, P. quadrifida, and P. tuberosa, 

 weeds very common in waste lands and roadsides. 

 The golden-yellow flowers of these 

 three species are devoid of nectar 

 and odour, and open for about three 

 to four hours on sunny morning^s 

 and then close finally (pseudo-cleis- 

 togamous). The stigmas lie be- 

 tween the anthers in such a way that 

 automatic self-pollination is inevit- 

 able. The bright-yellow colour and 

 the presence of ants in the flowers 

 now and again suggest occasional 

 cross-pollination. Portulaca grandi- 

 flora is a common garden annual 

 having showy red-coloured pollen- 

 flowers with sensitive stamens. 



Nat. Order 19. Tamaricacece. — It 

 is an Order almost confined to sandy 

 and saline places and is represented 

 in Bengal by lal-jhau and ban-jhau {Tamarix gallica 

 and T. dioica) (fig. 159), two shrubs found in the 

 islands and sandy banks of the Hooghly, above the 

 village of Sooksagar, and in other similar places. 

 They have the structure and habit of xerophytes. 

 These plants must not be confounded with the big 

 jhau or Beef-wood tree, commonly grown in avenues, 

 which belongs to the Nat. Order Casuarinacece. 



Nat. Order 20. HypericacecB. — Herbs or shrubs, 

 leaves simple, opposite, dotted with glands. Flowers 



Fig. 159. — Lal-jhau 

 {^Tamarix gallica') 



