366 GOOSEFOOT FAMILY. 



4. BETA, BEET. (Latin name.) One species in cultivation, viz. : — 



B. vulgaris, Linn. Common Beet. From S. Eu.; cult, in many varie- 

 ties, with ovate-oblong, smooth, often wavy-margined leaves, sometimes 

 purple-tinged; flower clusters spiked; root conical or spindle-shaped. 

 Mangel-wurzel is a variety, the large root used for feeding cattle. 

 Swiss Chaed is a form with broad petioles, used as a pot herb. There 

 are also ornamental-leaved forms. ® 



5. ATRIPLBX, ORACH. (Latin, from the Greek, not nourishing.) (J) 



* . Upright or erect, green. 



A. hortSnse, Linn. Orach. Tall and strict (3°-4°) ; leaves cordate- 

 ovate and large, sinuate-notched, or those near the inflorescence becom- 

 ing lance-ovate and entire, all slender-petioled ; flowers in a large ter- 

 minal panicle, the heart-shaped fruiting bracts conspicuous and often 

 colored. Old- World. Sometimes cult, as a substitute for Spinach. . 



A. patulum, Linn. Erect or sometimes prostrate, glabrous or slightly 

 scurfy ; leaves narrowly lanceolate-hastate, entire or somewhat sinuate- 

 dentate, petioled, the lower ones sometimes opposite, the uppermost 

 becoming linear ; bracts triangular-ovate or rhombic-hastate. Generally 

 distributed, and immensely variable in form of leaves. 



* » Diffusely spreading, white-mealy. 



A. arenarium, Nutt. Leaves oblong and narrowed at the base, nearly 

 sessile ; bracts broadly wedge-form and united, 2-6-toothed. Coast, 

 Mass., S. 



6. CORISPERMUM, BUG-SEED (which the name means in Greek, 

 from the oval, flat fruit.) (J) 



C. hyssopifdlium, Linn. In sands along the Great Lakes and W.; 

 pale, diffusely branched, and sometimes becoming a tumble weed in fall, 

 glabrous, or hairy when young ; fruits wing-margined, in terminal inter- 

 rupted spikes. 



7. SUiEDA, SEA BLITE. (Arabic name.) Uninteresting saline 

 plants, often running into perplexing forms. 



S. linearis, Moq. The only species in the East, is either erect or 

 prostrate, l°-2°, branched ; leaves 2' or less long, narrow at the base, not 

 spine-like ; bracts acuminate, on slender branchlets. Seacoast. ® 



8. SALSOLA, SALTWORT. (Latin, salty.) ® 



S. Kali, Linn. Diffusely branched, rough or nearly smooth ; leaves 

 short, stiff and prickly-pointed, 2-4 times longer than the bracts ; calyx 

 often reddish, forming a beak-like body over the fruit, the wings thick 

 and less prominent than the calyx lobes. Seashore, N. Eng., S. 



Var. Trdgus, Moq. Russian Thistle, Russian Cactus. More bushy 

 and rigid ; leaves of mature plant only a little longer than the leaf-like 

 bracts ; calyx membranaceous and generally bright rose color, the wings 

 much longer than the calyx lobes. Introd. into the Upper Miss, valley 

 and the plains (also in N.Y.) from N. Eu. , and now a pernicious weed. 



9. SALICOHNIA, GLASSWORT, SAMPHIRE. (Latin: salt and 

 horn, from the habitat and the horn-like branches.) 



S. mucronata, Bigel. Erect and stout, naked below, becoming red ; 

 spikes thick, the scales conspicuous and pointed, Seacoast, Va., N. (g 



