PURSLANE FAMILY. 



185 



1. L. rediviva Pursh. Bitter Root. Leaves thick, linear; 

 scapes 1 or 2 in. high, jointed above the middle and bearing an 

 involucral whorl of 5 or 7 scarious subulate bracts; petals pink or 

 bright rose, £ to 1 in. long, spreading rotately. 



Mt. Hamilton; Mt. Diablo; high peaks east of Napa City (acc. to 

 Greene); Sonoma and Napa ridge, "number of style-branches in 4 

 flowers examined = 3, 4, 6, 7," Brewer; the only known localities 

 within our limits. It is the "Racine d'Amere " of the French trap- 

 pers of the Rocky Mountains of the Northwest where it is common 

 and an article of food among the Indians. May. 



3. CALANDRINIA HBK. 

 Low fleshy annuals with alternate leaves and ephemeral red or rose- 

 colored flowers, rarely varying to white. Sepals 2, persistent. Petals 

 3 to 7. Stamens 5 or more, rarely 3, seldom of the same number as 

 the petals. Style-branches 3. Capsule 3-valved from the apex. 

 Seeds numerous, black and often shining. (J. L. Calandrini, Swiss 

 botanist.) 



Capsule enveloped by the fruiting calyx; branches mostly ascending or erect: 



var. Menziesii of \. C. canlescens. 



Capsule nearly twice as long as the fruiting calyx; branches mostly trailing . 



2. C. Breweri. 



1. C. caulescens HBK. var. Menziesii Gray. Red Maids. 

 Branching from the base and more or less diffuse, or erect and simple, 

 2 or 3 to 18 in. high; leaves narrowly oblanceolate to linear, acute; 

 calyx glabrous, or somewhat hispidulous on the margin or midrib of 

 the sepals; petals 5, orbicular-obovate, retuse at apex, crimson or 

 rose-red, 3 or 4 lines long; stamens 7 to 13, commonly 10 to 12, rarely 

 fewer than 7; capsule ovate, short-pointed, enveloped by the sepals 

 which are nearly or quite as long. — (C. Menziesii T. & G.) 



Sometimes in fields and pastured hills; in wet years very abundant 

 in orchards and vineyards, often occupying such exclusively and 

 behaving like an immigrant. Mar.-Apr. 



2. C. Breweri Wats. Stems lax, trailing or sometimes ascending, 

 nearly 1 to quite 2 ft. long; leaves spatulate or oblong-spatulate; 

 flowers sparse; pedicels longer than in no. 1, often deflexed in fruit; 

 capsule narrower and longer (5 lines long), at length nearly twice as 

 long as the calyx. 



Near summit of Mt. Tamalpais, Jepson; Santa Inez Mountains 

 (where first collected by Brewer). June. 



4. MONTIA L. Indian Lettuce. 

 Moderately succulent, very glabrous and often glaucous, low herbs. 

 Leaves mostly radical. Flowers white or pinkish, rarely rose-color, 

 usually reopening the second or third day. Sepals 2, persistent. 

 Petals 5 (in M. fontana 3), equal or somewhat unequal, distinct or 

 more or less connate at base. Stamens 5 or 3. Style-branches 3. 

 Capsule 3-valved from the apex. Seeds 2 or 3. 



