( 482 .) 
AMARA'NTHUS* *. 
Linnean Class and Order. MoNCE'ciAf, Penta'ndria. 
Natural Order. Amarantha'cea:, R. Brown, Prod. p. 413. — 
Lindl. Syn. p. 213. ; Introd. to Nat. Syst. of Bot. p. 165. — Rich, by 
Macgilliv. p. 426. — Loud. Hort. Brit. p. 530. — Hook. Brit. FI. 
(4th ed.) p. 416. — Amaranthi. Juss. Gen. PI. p. 87. — Quer- 
neales ; sect. Rumicinaj ; type, Betacea: ; subty. Amarantida ; 
Burn. Out!, of Bot. v. ii. pp. 523, 587, 591, & 593. — Miscella- 
nea, Linn. 
Gen. Char. Flowers monoecious. Sterile Flowers (fig. 1). 
Calyx of 3, or 5, upright, elliptic or spear-shaped, coloured, per- 
manent sepals. Corolla none. Filaments (see fig. 1.) 3 or 5, 
hair-like, upright, not longer than the calyx, opposite to its seg- 
ments. Anthers oblong, versatile, of 2 lobes. — Fertile Flowers 
(fig. 2.) in the same cluster with the sterile ones. Calyx the same. 
Corolla none. Germen (see fig. 2.) superior, egg-shaped. Styles 
(see fig. 2.) 3, sometimes but 2. Stigmas undivided, pointed, downy 
on the upper side. Capsule (fig. 3.) egg-shaped, thin, crowned with 
the remains of the styles, bursting all round (see fig. 4.), of 1 cell. 
Seed (figs. 5 & 6.) solitary, globose, compressed, filling the capsule. 
The 3- or 5-sepaled calyx ; the want of a corolla ; the sterile 
Jlowers with 3 or 5 stamens ; and the fertile ones with 3 styles ; 
3 stigmas ; and a 1-celled, 1-seeded capsule , opening by a trans- 
verse incision ; will distinguish this from other genera in the same 
class and order. 
One species British. 
AMARA'NTHUS BLITUM. Blite Amaranth. Wild Blite. Small 
Garden Blite. Small Red Blite. 
Spec. Char. Flowers 3-cleft and triandrous, in small lateral 
clusters. Leaves egg-shaped, blunt. Stem spreading. 
Engl. Bot. t. 2212. — Linn. Pp. PI. p. 1405. — Hud3. FI. Angl. (2nd ed.) p. 418. — 
Willd. Sp. PI. v. iy. pt. 1 . p. 387. — Sra. FI. Brit. r. iii. p. 1018. ; Engl. FI. v. iv. p. 
137. — With. (7th ed.) v. ii. p. 208. — Lindl. Syn. p. 213. — Hook. Brit. FI. p. 404. — 
Macr. Man. Brit. Bot. p. 193.— Kelh. FI. Cant. (3rd ed.) p. 392. — Winch's FI. of 
Northumb. and Durh. p. 61.— Irv. Lond. FI. p. 284. — Amaranthus minor, Gray's 
Nat. Arr. v. ii. p. 289. — Blitum rubrum minus, Ray’s Cantab, p. 23. — Dill, in 
Ray’s Syn. p. 157. — Bauh. Hist. v. ii. p. 967, with a figure. — Johnson’s Gerarde. 
p. 321. f. 4 — Small Garden Blite, Petiv. H. Brit. t. 7. f. 9. —Blitum minus 
sylvestre rubrum, Park. Theatr. p. 753. f. 2. 
Localities. — On low waste ground, and near dunghills; very rare. — Cam- 
bridgeshire ; Near Parker’s Piece. Barnwell, by the side of the road leading 
to Ilmlon : Rev. 11. Reliian.— Dorset ; On rubbish, and about old walls ; at 
Fig. 1. A Sterile Flower. — Fig. 2. A Fertile Flower. — Fig. 3. A Capsula, accom- 
panied by the Calyx. — Fig. 4. A Capsule with the valves separated. — Figs. 5 & 6. 
A Seed. —Fig. 7. The same cut perpendicularly, showing the Radicle and the Coty- 
ledons. — All, except fig. 5, magnified. 
* From Amarantos, Gr. eoerlasting ; the tiowers being little subject to decay, 
t See folio 83, note f. 
