16t5 
CALYCIFLORiE. 
base and deciduous. Petals 4-6, equal, free or 
connected at the base. Stamens 8-15 : filaments 
free. Ovary subrotund : style 1, 3-6-cleft at the 
apex, or style none and stigmata 3-8, elongated. 
Capsule subglobose, 1-celled, circumcised at the 
middle : seeds oo , fixed to a central placenta. 
Name from porto to carry and lac milk. The flowers 
of the plants belonging to this genus, open between 9 and 
12 o’clock in the morning. 
1. Portulaca oleracea. Common Purslane. 
Leaves obovato-oblong fleshy, axilla and joints 
naked, flowers sessile. 
Linn. Spec. 638. 
11 A B. A common weed. 
F L. Throughout the year. 
Stem diffuse : branches ascending. Leaves opposite or 
crowded. Flowers yellow, 3 or 4 together in the axils 
of the subterminal leaves, sessile. Sepals 2, concave, 
membranaceo-margined, sharply keeled, acute, falling off 
with the upper portion of the capsule. Petals 5, obcor- 
date, with a minute apicula in the indentation. Stamens 
about 12 : filaments minutely asperulated : anthers small. 
Ovary conical : style 5-partite nearly to the base. 
The stem and branches are subject to become enlarged 
at certain places, from the deposition of the ova of an 
insect. 
Purslane ( Pourpier of the French) is to be found natur- 
alized in almost all the warmer and more temperate re- 
gions of the globe. It is most partial to a sandy soil, and 
hence is to be found every where in the neighbourhood of 
Kingston, being one of the most troublesome weeds of our 
gardens. It not only produces a great quantity of seed, 
but it is reproduced from the smallest portion, even from 
a leaf if left on the ground. It is a plant destitute of any 
odour, very fleshy and juicy, and insipid to the taste, but 
it takes readily the taste of any viands, or seasoning 
which may be combined with it, and in this manner an 
agreeable and palatable culinary preparation may be pro- 
duced. It is also used with vinegar as a salad, and forms 
the ingredient of a soup. As a vegetable it has the repu- 
tation of being cooling, antiscorbutic, diuretic &c., and 
