76 | THE PINK FAMILY. 
A genus of two or three Mediterranean species, very near to Sper- | 
gularia, but, in their minute petals and very short styles combined at the ~ 
base, showing a further approach to Jllecebracece. ; 
1. P. tetraphyllum, Linn. (fig. 173). Fowr-leaved P.—A glabrous, © 
much branched, spreading or prostrate annual, seldom more than 3 or 
4 inches long. Leaves obovate or oblong, really opposite, but placed — 
as they usually are, under the forks, two pairs are so close together as 
to assume the appearance of a whorl of 4. Flowers very small and 
numerous, in loose, terminal cymes; the sepals barely a line long, 
and rather concave. Petals much shorter, and very thin. Stamens 
usually 3. 
In sandy situations, generally not far from the sea, in south-western ~ 
Europe, round the Mediterranean, along the Atlantic, and as an intro- © 
duced weed over the world, perhaps indigenous in Australia. In 
Britain, only in the Channel Islands and from Cornwall to Dorset. 
Fl, summer. 
XIII. PORTULACEA. THE PURSLANE FAMILY. 
More or less succulent herbs, with entire leaves, usually 
opposite. Sepals 2 or rarely 3. Petals 5 or rarely more, 
sometimes slightly united. Stamens either equal: in number 
and opposite to the petals, or indefinite. Styles 2 to 8, united 
at the base. Capsule 1-celled, with a free central placenta, and 
several seeds with a curved embryo and mealy albumen, as in 
Caryophyllacec. 
The family has a very wide geographical range, especially in North 
and South America, with a few species dispersed over the other 
quarters of the globe. It is nearly allied to the smaller species of 
Caryophyllacee, and to the Jilecebracew, but easily known by the calyx. 
Several species belonging to the exotic genera Portulaca (Purslane) and 
Calandrimia, as well as to Claytonia, are cultivated in our gardens. 
Petals 5, distinct. Stamens 5, opposite the petals. ; P . 1. CLAYTONIA. 
Petals united in a corolla, split open on one side. Stamens3 . . 2, MONTIA. 
I, CLAYTONIA. CLAYTONIA. 
Petals 5, free. Stamens 5, opposite to the petals and adhering to 
them at the base. Stigmas 3. Capsule opening in 3 valves, and con- 
taining 3 seeds. 
The genus comprises several species natives of North America or 
northern Asia, and is only admissible into the British Flora amongst 
naturalised aliens. 
1, C. perfoliata, Don (fig. 174). Perfoliate CA glabrous, green, © 
somewhat succulent annual, with numerous spreading prostrate or 
ascending stems, from a few inches to nearly a foot long. Radical 
leaves on long petioles, small, broadly ovate or almost reniform. 
Flowering stems with a single leaf below the flowers, nearly orbicular, © 
concave, and quite perfoliate, the stem passing through the centre, 
evidently formed by the union of two opposite leaves. Flowers very 
