PORTULACACEAE. 137 



petals 4 or 5, hypogynous, early withering; stamens as many as 

 or more numerous than the petals and adherent to their bases; 

 ovary 1 -celled; ovules few to many; endosperm mealy. 



Ovary half-inferior; sepals partly united. 169. Portulaca, 137. 



Ovary superior. 



Capsule circumscissile; sepals 4—8. 170. Lewisia, 137. 



Capsule not circumscissile. 



Style branches 2; capsule 2-valved; sepals 



scarious. 171. Spraguea, 138. 



Style branches 3; capsule 3-valved; sepals 

 not scarious. 

 Petals 3-7; stamens 3-12; leaves alter- 

 nate, fleshy. 172. Calandrinia, 138. 

 Petals 5; stamens 3 or 5; leaves opposite 

 or alternate, not fleshy. 

 Corolla zygomorphic; styles short, 



cleft nearly to the base. 173. Montia, 138. 



Corolla regular; styles elongated, 



united nearly to the top. 174. Claytonia, 139. 



169. PORTULACA. 



Low fleshy herbs; leaves alternate or partly opposite; stipules 

 scarious or none, or reduced to hairy tufts; flowers terminal and 

 sessile, expanding in direct sunshine before mid-day, soon closing; 

 sepals 2, coherent at the base in a tube and adnate to the ovary; 

 stamens 7-20; ovules numerous. 



Portulaca oleracea L. Purslane. Annual, prostrate, fleshy, forming mats 

 10— 10 cm. in diameter; leaves narrowly obovate, obtuse or truncate, narrowed 

 at base, 1-2 cm. long, glabrous; calyx-lobes ovate, keeled; petals yellow, notched 

 at the apex; stamens 7-12; capsule conical, acute, dehiscing below the 

 middle. 



Sparingly introduced as a weed. 



170. LEWISIA. 



Low acaulescent fleshy perennial herbs, with fleshy roots or a 

 corm; flowers on short scapes, showy; sepals 4-8; petals 3-16; 

 stamens numerous; capsule circumscissile; seeds many, black, 

 shining. 



Plant 10-20 cm. high; inflorescence a many-flowered panicle. L. columbiana. 

 Plant 2-8 cm. high; scapes 1-3-flowered. L. pygmaea. 



Lewisia columbiana (Howell) Robinson. Roots fleshy, branched; leaves 

 oblanceolate to spatulate, fleshy but flat, 2-5 cm. long, green; scapes stout, 

 10-30 cm. high; bracts oblong, glandular-toothed; panicle loose, usually many- 

 flowered; sepals nearly orbicular, the minute teeth gland-tipped; petals rose- 

 red, 8-10 mm. long. 



Abundant in the Olympic Mountains; also on Vancouver Island and most 

 of the high peaks in the Cascade Mountains. Originally found in the Columbia 

 River Gap, where it occurs nearly to the river level. 



