1. Portulaca. Stamens 7--20, on the partly adherent calyx. Pod opening by a lid.
2. Talinum. Stamens more numerous than the petals, hypogynous. Calyx deciduous. Pod many-seeded.
3. Claytonia. Stamens as many as the hypogynous petals, and attached to their base. Calyx persistent. Pod 3--6-seeded.
Calyx 2-cleft; the tube cohering with the ovary below. Petals 5, rarely 6, inserted on the calyx with the 7--20 stamens, fugacious. Style mostly 3--8-parted. Pod 1-celled, globular, many-seeded, opening transversely, the upper part (with the upper part of the calyx) separating as a lid.--Fleshy annuals, with mostly scattered leaves. (An old Latin name, of unknown meaning.)
P. OLERÀCEA, L. (COMMON PURSLANE.) Prostrate, very smooth; leaves obovate or wedge-form; flowers sessile (opening only in sunny mornings); sepals keeled; petals pale yellow; stamens 7--12; style deeply 5--6-parted; flower-bud flat and acute.--Cultivated and waste grounds; common. Seemingly indigenous west and southwestward. (Nat. from Eu.)
1. P. retùsa, Engelm. Leaves often retuse; calyx-lobes obtuse in the bud; petals small or minute; style shorter, 3--4-cleft; seeds larger, sharply tuberculate; otherwise like the last.--Ark. to Tex. and westward; reported from Kan., Iowa, and Minn.
2. P. pilòsa, L. Ascending or spreading, copiously hairy in the axils; leaves linear-subulate, nearly terete, 3--6´´ long; petals red or purple.--Kan. to Tex., etc.
Sepals 2, distinct and free, deciduous. Petals 5, ephemeral. Stamens 10--30. Style 3-lobed at the apex. Pod 3-celled at the base when young, 3-valved, with many seeds on a globular stalked placenta. (Derivation obscure.)
1. T. teretifòlium, Pursh. Perennial; leafy stems low, tuberous at base; leaves linear, cylindrical; peduncle long (3--6´) and naked, bearing an open cyme of pink flowers ({ 2/3}´ broad); stamens 15--20.--Serpentine rocks, Penn., to Ind., Minn., and southward. June--Aug. (Addendum) Style equalling the stamens.
(Addendum) 2. T. calycìnum, Engelm. Leaves somewhat broader; flowers and capsules larger; stamens 30 or more; style twice longer than the stamens, declined.--Central Kan. to W. Tex.
Sepals 2, ovate, free, persistent. Stamens 5, adhering to the short claws of the petals. Style 3-cleft at the apex. Pod 1-celled, 3-valved, 3--6-seeded.--Our two species are perennials, sending up simple stems in early spring from a small deep tuber, bearing a pair of opposite leaves, and a loose raceme of pretty flowers. Corolla rose-color with deeper veins, opening for more than one day! (Named in honor of _Dr. John Clayton_, one of our earliest botanists, who contributed to Gronovius the materials for the Flora Virginica.)