1 86 



Plate 45. 



Fam. 17. Chenopodiaceae. 

 A. /f trip/ex Ha/imus h. 1. Flowering twig ; nat. size. 2. ^ dower. ^. $ flower. 

 3/1. 4. Seed, long, section, showing the annular embryo ami the central perisperm. 



5. Fruit, winged. 2 1. 



1>. /i triplex halt moidei Lindl. Fruit (naturally inflated). 3 1. 



C. Salso/a aph\lla L. t. hut rigs. 1 and 4 from S. Zeyheri (Moq.) Schin/. 

 1. Flowering twig. 2. Leaf. 3 1. 3. Leal in transverse section. 4. <$ flower. 

 5. % flower in long, section. 6. Fruit. 7. A single fruitier. S. Embryo. 10 1. 



1). Salicornia herbacea L. 1. Twig. 2. £ flower. 20 1. j. ? flower in long, 

 section. 20/1. 4. Fruit. 3/1. 



Fam. 18. Amarantaceae. 



E. Cyathula globulifera Moq. I . Twig in fruit. 2. Fruitlet with its bristles. {.Seed. 



4. Seed in long, section. 6 1. 5. Embryo. The burrs of this plant often adhere to wool. 



F. Achyranthes aspera L. 1. Twig. 2. <$ flower. 3. ^ flower with its bracts. 

 4. Fruit. 9/1. 



Fam. 18. Amarantaceae. 



Herbs or shrublets with opposite or alternate, exstipu- 

 late leaves and small flowers, which are crowded together 

 into capitate or capitate-spicate inflorescences (glomerules). 



Flowers bisexual, regular, rarely monoecious [Amar- 

 ci7itus i:: ^) or dioecious (Alternantherd)\ perianth 4 — 5 -parted 

 or -cleft, the segments mostly dry and membranous. 

 Stamens as many as the segments and opposite them, or 

 fewer, the filaments more or less joined at their 

 base into a short tube, with or without processes 

 (staminodes) between them. Pollen grains globose with 

 numerous pores. Ovary superior, i-eelled, free; ovules 

 1 or more, erect or suspended from funicles which rise 

 from the base of the cavity. Fruit a nut-like utricle, 

 either 1 -seeded or many-seeded [Celosicae), mostly enclosed 

 in the unaltered perianth-tube. Seed more or less rounded; 

 embryo lateral, curving round the farinaceous perisperm. 



This family is so closely related to Chenopodiaceae, 

 that no sharp line can be drawn between them. As far 

 as the South African species are concerned the membranous, 

 often coloured (white or pink) perianth and their general 

 habit afford sufficient means of distinction. 



* From ' AftapaVTO*;, the Greek name of a plant that does not readily fade. The 

 'Aftapavros of the ancients is, however, a plant quite different from our amaranths, 

 viz. Gnaphalium Stoechas, a near ally of the everlastings. 



(Plate 46 is lacing page 182.) 



