58 



Spinach and Other Greens 



perianth with 4 obtuse hyaline-margined divisions (divided to 

 base) and 4 exserted stamens opposite them, the pistil rudi- 

 mentary ; pistillate perianth 2-notched and close-pressed about 

 the single 5-styled pistil, the styles exserted, the perianth bear- 

 ing 2 to 4 spines on its exterior : fruit a small brown achene 

 inclosed within the persisting enlarged closed and indurated 

 spiny perianth, the entire structure constituting the " seed " of 

 gardeners, % to % in. in spread; this seed (fruit) weighs 10 

 to 20 mg. and has a germinating vitality of about 5 years. 



Tar. inermis, Peterm. Pflzschluss. 377. 1S46. (S. inermis, 

 Moench. Meth. 318. 1794. S. glabra, Mill. Gard. Diet. Spinacia 

 No. 2. 1768. S. oleracea var. glahra, Guerke, Richt.-Guerke, 

 PL Eur. li, 138. 1897.) Round-seeded Spinach. Fruits " smooth," 

 i.e., without spines : plant supposed usually to make closer 

 tufts of larger root leaves. — Whatever may have been the dis- 

 tinctions in foliage, size and habit between the two races of 

 spinach in earlier times, in cultivation at present the characters 

 appear to be largely merged except in the smoothness or spini- 

 ness of the fruit ; and even in these fruit characters the differ- 

 ence may not be great, for in some strains the spines are very 

 short, and marked rudiments of spines also may be observed 

 frequently on round-seeded kinds. In defining the two kinds, 

 Philipp Miller in 1768 characterized S. oleracea as " spinach 

 with arrow-pointed leaves and prickly seeds," and S. glal)ra as 

 " spinach with oblong oval leaves and smooth seeds." He did 

 not speak of " round leaves." Spinach is a plant of relatively 

 recent domestication, and it is not greatly modified. 



OTHER GREENS 



Many kinds of plants aside from spinach are used as 

 greens or potherbs. Some of the common weeds are much 

 prized for this purpose in the rural districts, particularly 

 the common white pigweed or Iambus quarter, pusley or 

 purslane, dandelion and dock. Shepherd's purse is a 

 favorite food plant in China, where it is cultivated. The 

 amaranths supply vast numbers of people in other parts 



