52 
PORTULACACEAE 
1. C. caulescens H. B. K. var. menziesii Gray. Red Maids. Kisses. 
Branching from the base, 4.8 to 43 cm. high; leaves narrowly oblanceo- 
late or linear; petals roundish-obovate, notched at apex, 6 to 8 mm. long; 
pod enveloped by the persistent sepals.—Orchards, vineyards and open 
hills. 
3. MONTIA L. Indian Lettuce 
Somewhat succulent very glabrous herbs with clustered stems and 
mostly basal leaves. Flowers white or pink, usually reopening the sec¬ 
ond or third day, borne in terminal racemes or umbels. Petals equal or 
somewhat unequal, distinct or slightly united at base, commonly emargi- 
nate at apex. Seeds 1 to 3. (Giuseppe Monti, Italian botanist, died 
1760.) 
Leaves basal or opposite. 
Stems bearing 1 pair of leaves, these opposite. 
Cauline pair of leaves quite distinct; pedicels 1.2 to 4.8 cm. long; 
perennial .1. M. sibirica. 
Cauline pair of leaves more or less united ; annuals. 
Cauline pair of leaves united into a disk; petals little longer than the 
sepals.2. M. perfoliata. 
Cauline pair of leaves not forming a disk, partially joined on one 
side ; petals 3 times as long as the sepals....3. M. spathulata . 
Stems bearing several pairs of opposite leaves ; perennial by bulblets. 
4. M. chamissoi. 
Leaves alternate ; perennial by stolons or bulblets.. 5. M. parvifolia. 
1. M. sibirica (L.) Howed. Stems 2.1 to 4.3 dm. high; basal leaves 
ovate on long petioles, the pair beneath the raceme ovate or almost round, 
distinct, sessile or rarely short-petioled; flowers on pedicels 2.4 to 6 cm. 
long; petals pink.—Swampy places along the coast. 
2. M. perfoliata (Donn) Howell. Miner’s Lettuce. Stems 7.2 to 
34 cm. high; basal leaves long-petioled, the earliest linear, the later ones 
with ovate, rhomboidal or deltoid blade; pair beneath the raceme com¬ 
pletely united into a round and entire or angulately lobed disk which is 
1.2 to 9.6 cm. broad; petals white.—Shade of trees in openly wooded coun¬ 
try in the hills or valleys. 
3. M. spathulata Howell. Caespitose, 2.4 to 14 cm. high; herbage 
glaucous and very fleshy; leaves linear or lanceolate; cauline leaves par¬ 
tially joined on one side; petals white or light pink.—Open gravelly or 
rocky hilltops, Coast Ranges. 
4. M. chamissoi Dur. & Jac. Stems ascending or decumbent, rooting 
at the lower nodes, 9.6 to 14 cm. long, the plants perennial by bulblets 
produced at the end of slender runners; leaves opposite, mostly narrowly 
oblong, 1.2 to 4.8 cm. long, petioled; racemes axillary; pedicels recurved 
after flowering; petals pink or white, 3 times as long as the sepals.—Wet 
places in the mountains. 
5. M. parvifolia (Moc.) Greene. Stems very slender, almost whip¬ 
like, 1.2 to 2.6 dm. high, several from a Sedum-like rosette; leaves fleshy, 
the lowest ovate or rhombic, 1.2 cm. long, petioled, the upper few, small, 
narrow, and sessile; upper axils producing fleshy bulblets which fall 
away readily; racemes terminal; sepals 2 mm. long; petals rose-color 
varying to white, 6 to 10 mm. long.—Springs and wet places, coast from 
Monterey Co. n. and Sierra Nevada. 
