702 



THE GOOSEFOOT FAMILY. 



Segments of the fruiting perianth not united above the 

 middle. Annuals. Leaves either toothed or hastate, or, 

 if entire, narrow and green. 

 Segments of the fruiting perianth thin, and quite free. 



Plant of 4 or 5 feet 3. Garden O. 



Segments of the fruiting perianth thickish, and partially 



united. Plant not above 3 feet, erect or procumbent. 



Floral leaves nearly sessile. Fruiting perianths mostly 



axillary, white and scaly 5. Frosted O. 



Leaves almost all stalked. Fruiting perianths mostly 



mixed with the male flowers, green or slightly mealy 4. Common O. 



The shrubby 0. (A. Halimus), from the shores of the Mediterranean, 

 is often cultivated in gardens, especially near the seacoast. 



1. Purslane Oraehe. Atriplex portulacoides, Linn. 

 (Kg. 845.) 



(Eng. Bot. t. 261. Sea Purslane. Lesser Shrubby Oraehe.) 



A low, straggling, much branched 

 shrub or undershrub, often shortly 

 creeping, and rooting at the base, 1 to 

 1\ feet high, covered with a grey scali- 

 ness closer than in other Oraches. 

 Leaves obovate or oblong, tapering at 

 the base, or the upper ones linear, seldom 

 above an inch long, and always entire. 

 Flowers in short, interrupted spikes, 

 forming a terminal panicle. Fruiting 

 perianth small and thick, triangular or 

 nearly orbicular ; the segments united 

 very nearly to the top, where they are 

 more or less toothed. 



On the seacoasts of Europe, western 

 Asia, and northern Africa, extending 

 northwards to the Baltic. Common on 

 the shores of the greater part of Eng- 

 land and Ireland, but rare in Scotland. Fl. autumn. 



Fig. 845. 



2. Stalked Oraehe. Atriplex pedunculata, Linn. (Fig. 846.) 



(Eng. Bot. t. 232.) 



Resembles the Purslane O. in its entire, thickish leaves, scaly- 

 white on both sides, but is an annual only, with spreading branches, 

 seldom a foot high ; the leaves usually broader, the lower ones ovate or 



