246 XVIII. CARYOPHYLLE^. (Edgeworth & Hook, f.) [Pol^fcarpon,, 



Branches 6-18 in. high. Leaves obtuse, i-4 in.; stipules lanceolate. Cymet 

 puberulous, lax, very manj-flowered. Flowers -jV in. long. 



3. P. splcata, Wigkt & Am. in Ann. Nat. Hist. iii. 91 ; annual, gla- 

 brous, leaves obovate-spathulate radical rosulate, cymes densely fas- 

 cicled or semiumbellate, flowers subspicate, sepals lanceolate or ovate- 

 lanceolate acute much exceeding the petals and capsule. P. staticaeformis, 

 Hochst. & Stevd. 



Westeen Pehihshla, at Tutiooreen, Wight; Sindh, Stocks.— TtwrnTB. Arabia, 

 Egypt, N. Australia. 



A small berb 2-5 in. bigb ; branches strict, filiform, erecto-patent from the root, 

 hearing tufts of leaves and umbelled cymes. Leaves petioled, \-^ in., rather fleshy, 

 nerveless ; stipules scarious, lacerate. Uymes \ in. diam., long peduncled. Flowers 

 subsecund, crowded, J in. long, bracts and sepals acute, scarious, white, with a highly 

 coloured broad herbaceous midrib. Petals very small, oblong, obtuse. Capsule rather 

 more than half the length of the sepals. iSeeds shining. 



Order XIX. PORTULACE.a:. (By W. T. Thiselton Dyer, F.L.S.) 



Herbs, rarely undershrubs. Leaves opposite or alternate, entire ; nodes 

 ■with scarious or hairy appendages, rarely naked.^ Inflorescence various. 

 Sepals 2, imbricate. Petals 4-5, hypogynous or perigynous, free (or united 

 below), fugacious. Stamens 4r-a>, inserted with (rarely upon) the petals, 

 filaments slender ; anthers 2-celled. Ovary free, or ^-inferior, 1-ceUed ; 

 style 2-8-fid, divisions stigmatoSe ; ovules S-oo , on basal funicles or a cen- 

 tral column, amphitrppal. Capsule with transverse or 2-3-valvular dehis- 

 cence. SeedM 1-00, compressed ; embryo curved round a mealy albumen. — 

 DiSTEiB. Cosmopolitan, chiefly American ; genera 15, species about 125. 



Ovary half-adnate I. Portdlaca. 



Ovary free 2. Taumdm. 



1. FORTUIiACA, Linn. 



Difiiise, usually succulent, annual or perennial herbs. Leaves with scaly 

 or hairy iiodal appendages. Flowers terminal, surrounded by a whorl of 

 leaves, solitary or clustered. Sepals connate below, the free part deciduous. 

 Petals 4-6, perigynous or epipetalous. Ovary ^inferior ; style 3-8-fid ; 

 ovules 00. (7ajom« crustaceous, dehiscing transversely. Seeds oo,reniform. — 

 DisTEiB. Tropical regions, chiefly American ; one or two are cosmopolitan 

 weeds extending to temperate regions ; species 16. 



* Leaves flat. 



1. P. oleracea, Linn. ; nodal appendages scarious minute or 0, leaves 

 cuneate-oblong. Roxb. Fl. Ind. ii. 463 ; W. & A. Prodr. 356. P. laevis. 

 Ham. in Wall. Cat. 6841. P. suffruticosa, Thw. Enum. 24 {not of Wight). 



Throughout India, ascending to 5000 ft. in the Himalayas. — Dibtkib. All warm 

 climates. 



An annual usually prostrate herb, 4-1 ft., suhsuccnlent and glabrous. Leaves \-\\ in-, 

 rounded-truncate; petiole very short. Infiorescence of few-flowered terminal heads, 

 either solitary, or in dichotomous cymes. Flowers sessile, with a few ovate, pointed, 

 scarious scales. Petals 5, about equalling the sepals, yellow. Stamens 8-12. Style 

 3-8-fid. Seeds tubercled-punctate. — An excellent salad. 



Var. erecta; erect, leaves spathulate-linear brighter green ; P. oleracea, var. sylves- 

 tris, JS6. .Boj/Ze (not 0/ DC.).— N.W. India. 



