268 
AMARANTHACE^E. 
[JErva. 
or cuspidate, in. long, narrowed into a distinct petiole. Spikes 
globose or oblong, T V~i in. long, from the axils of the congested upper 
leaves. Perianth-segments -gV in. long, densely pilose, dirty white, 
oblong-lanceolate, cuspidate, twice as long as the deltoid glabrous 
bracts. 
Rodriguez, only on coral, near the shore, Balfour ! Endemic. 
3. A. brachiata, Mart. ; Moq. in DC. Prod. xiii. 2, 304. A much- 
branched erect glabrous annual, with stems £-1 foot long. Leaves 
alternate and opposite, petioled, oblong-spathulate or lanceolate, acute, 
glabrous, membranous, \-l in. long. Spikes £-1 in. long, oblong or 
cylindrical, all axillary, sessile, usually fascicled. Perianth white, ^ 
in. long ; segments oblanceolate cuspidate, very woolly, twice as 
long as the deltoid bracts. Staminodia deltoid, very minute. JE. 
chenopodiifolia, Bojer , Sort. Maur. 268. 
Mauritius, in sandy soil near the sea. Tropical Asia and Africa. 
2. ACHRYANTHES, Linn. 
Flowers hermaphrodite. Bracts 2-3, subspinose, subequilateral. 
Segments of perianth 5, permanently erect, not pilose. Stamens 5 ; 
filaments joined at the base, alternating with indexed staminodes, which 
are fimbriated at the tip ; anthers 2-celled. Ovary 1-celJed, 1-ovuled; 
style filiform ; stigma capitate. Utricle indehiscent. — Herbs, with 
opposite leaves, the flowers ‘ in long terminal spikes. Distrib. 
Weeds of the tropical zone of the Old World. Species about a 
dozen. 
1. A. asp era, Linn. Sp. 295. An erect shrubby annual, with 
thinly pilose branched stems 2-5 feet high. Leaves opposite, obovate, 
petioled, entire, 1-3 in. long, obtuse or acute, thinly white-silky beneath. 
Spikes |-1 ft. long, cernuous at the top, with a pubescent woody pilose 
nodose rachis. Flowers except the uppermost deflexed ; bracts subu- 
late, from a dilated base, straw-coloured, subspinescent, shorter than 
the perianth. Perianth-segments i in. long, lanceolate, acute, firm, 
green, with pale edges. Staminodes joined with the dilated bases of 
the filaments into a cup. 
Mauritius, Seychelles, and Rodriguez, a common weed. A. argentea , Lam., 
Sibth. and Sm., Flor. Grsec. t. 244, probably identical with A. borbonica, Bojer, Hort. 
Maur. 267, is a variety with green flowers, leaves thicker and more densely silvery 
beneath and spinose bracts nearly or quite as long as the perianth. A. mauritiana , 
Moquin in DC. Prod. xiii. 2, 313, is a herbaceous form with very slender subgla- 
brous stems, acute leaves, short spikes and brownish flowers. Spread through 
tropics of the Old World, and also naturalised occasionally in the New. Herbe 
Sergent. 
3. CYATHULA, Lour. 
Flowers in clusters, the fertile ones hermaphrodite, mixed with 
