154 



PLANTS OF NEW ZP:ALAN]) 



Rumex flexuosus. (Tlie TmiKous Dock). 



A much brauchedhei'h, 1ft. -'2ft. long, prostrate, shining. Leaves 4-in. -Sin. 

 King, linear-oblong, sometimes waved at the margins. Flowers in distinct 

 whorls. Lobes of perianth in fruit t^,7in. long, veined, sometimes with 1-4 

 spines, keeled. Keel sometimes spiny. Both islands : common. Fl. Nov.- 

 ilarch. 





Fig. 44. Miiblenbeckia axillaris. Fruit (life size). 



Chenopodiaceae. 



The Beet Family. 



Distribution. — A large family, distriliuted all over the world. Soda was at 

 one time obtained from the ashes of those species which grow in salt marshes. 

 Spinach (Spinacia) and beet (Beta) are used as table vegetables. 



Sand-dunes, sea-marshes, deserts, and old lake bottoms are 

 more or less impregnated with salts of sodium, calcium, 

 magnesium, and potassium. Plants growing in such situations 



