62 



WEEDS AND USEFUX PLA:STS. 



Order IX. PORTULACA'CE^. (Pueslane Family.) 



SucculeDt or flestiT Tier&s, witli regular, imgrm metrical, asillary or terminal, nsually 

 ephemera.] Jlowers. Calyx mostly of 2 sepals, often nnited below and adhering to tlie base 

 of tlie ovary. Petals 5. or rarely more numerous. Stamens variable in number, oppo- 

 site the petals -when of the same number. Styles 2- -united, below. Capsule 1-celled ; 

 placenta central. Seeds mostly numerous, curved ; enibryo coiled around mealy albumen. 



There are some 30 genera ia the Order — of which the plant here noticed is the type. 

 They are, however, of little or no interest to the farmer. 



1. POETULA'CA, Tounief. Purslane. 



[A name of obscure and uncertain derivation.] 



Sepals 2, partly nnited, and adherent to the base of the ovary, — the 

 upper portion finally circumscissed and deciduous. Petals mostly 5, in- 

 serted on the calyx. Stamens 8-15 or 20. Stigmas 3-8. Cap- 

 sule subglobose, circumscissed. Leaves scattered, often whorled near the 

 flowers. 



1. P. olera'cea, L. Prostrate, smooth : leaves oblong-cuneate, obtuse, 

 fleshy ; flowers sessile, opening only in the morning sun. 

 Pot-herb Portulaca. Purslane. 



Fr. Pourpier potager. Germ. Gemeiner Portulak. Span. Yerdolaga. 



Root annual. Stem 6-12 or 15 inches long, fleshy, smooth, prostrate, branching and 

 radicatiag. Leaves half an inch to an inch long, alternate and opposite. Peials pale yellow. 



Gardens and cultivated grounds. Native of Europe and India. H. July -August. Fr. 

 September. 



Obs. This plant, though said to be indigenous in the far west, has 

 every appearance of being a naturalized sti-anger with ns. It was often 



Fig. 41. Purslane (Portulaca oleracea). 42. A pod, opening transversely. 



