40 



SELECTED WESTERN FLORA 



Fig. 35, — Ama- 

 ranthus retroflexus. 



1. A. retroflexus, L. Redroot Pigweed. 



Rough, pubescent; leaves ovate, long-petioled ; 

 flowers in a spike made large and somewhat rigid by 

 the presence of the stiff sharp-pointed bracts. A 

 common weed in cultivated ground. 



XXVI. nyctaginAce^ 



Family). 



(Four-o'clock 



Herbs with opposite entire leaves, stems 

 swollen at the joints, and calyx colored like a 

 corolla, the persistent base becoming restricted 

 above the 1-celled ovary forming a nut-like fruit. 



1. OXtBAPHUS. 



Calyx tube short; stamens 3, hypogenous; 

 style filiform with a somewhat club-shaped 

 stigma; fruit several-angled. Perennial herbs 

 with rose-colored flowers, 3-5 in a cluster, sur- 

 rounded by a saucer-shaped involucre. 



O. nyctagineus, (Michx.) Sweet. 



Stem smooth or nearly so ; leaves ovate, petiolate except at the top ; in- 

 florescence axillary, consisting of a single cluster in each axil below, but 

 becoming crowded above; involucre broad. Sandy shores, local and rare. 

 Wood End, Souris River, (Dawson) Delta, Man. 



O. hirsfitus, (Pursh) Sweet. 



Stem glandular, hairy, lanceolate, sessile or nearly so ; fruit not so sharply 

 angled as the preceding. Dry sandy plains, local but more frequent. Sand 

 Hills along the Red River Valley, Qu'Appelle Valley, sandy places W. Sask. 



XXVII. CARYOPHYLLACEiE (Pink Family). 



Herbs with opposite entire leaves; stems swollen at the joints; 

 flowers with or without petals, 4 or 5-merous; stamens distinct, 

 never more than twice the number of the sepals, and arranged either 

 on the receptacle or on the corolla; styles 2-5; fruit a 1-5-celled 

 pod with the seeds attached around the base of the central column. 

 A large family containing a few more or less troublesome weeds and a 

 largo number of our most beautiful cultivated flowers. 



