# Manual of the New Zealand Flora/Chenopodiaceæ

Additions and Corrections
Order LXIV. CHENOPODIACEÆ.
Annual or perennial herbs or shrubs, usually succulent and fleshy, sometimes covered with a mealy scurf. Leaves alternate or very rarely opposite, simple, sometimes wanting, exstipulate. Flowers small, regular, hermaphrodite or unisexual, often dimorphic, variously disposed but usually sessile and clustered, clusters often aggregated into dense or interrupted spikes or panicles. Bracts often wanting, when present herbaceous, not scarious. Perianth inferior, 3–5-lobed or -cleft, herbaceous, persistent, imbricate. Stamens 4–5, rarely fewer, hypogynous or perigynous; filaments subulate or filiform; anthers 2-celled. Ovary superior, 1-celled; style-branches 2–3, either free or united at the base; ovule solitary, basal or lateral, amphitropous. Fruit usually a utricle, rarely a berry, enclosed in the persistent perianth, which is often enlarged or fleshy. Seed horizontal or vertical, testa crustaceous; albumen present and farinaceous or wanting; embryo curved or annular or spiral.
A widely spread order, found in all climates, but most plentiful in maritime or saline localities. Genera 80; species between 500 and 600, often difficult of discrimination. The order includes the sugar-beet and mangold, two plants of great commercial importance; also the garden-beet, the spinach, ​and orache. Many of the species are common weeds of cultivation, and several of these have become naturalised in New Zealand. Of the 6 indigenous genera, 5 are widely spread in temperate and tropical climates, the remaining one (Rhagodia) is confined to Australia and New Zealand.
A. Stems leafy, not jointed. Stamens 3–5. :
| Flowers hermaphrodite or unisexual. Perianth hardly enlarged in fruit. Fruit a berry. Embryo annular | 1. Rhagodia. |
| Flowers usually hermaphrodite. Perianth hardly enlarged in fruit. Fruit a dry utricle. Embryo annular | 2. Chenopodium. |
| Flowers unisexual; females enclosed within 2 bracts which are much enlarged in fruit. Embryo annular | 3. Atriplex. |
| Leaves fleshy, semiterete. Perianth simply enlarged and fleshy in fruit. Embryo spiral | 5. Suæda. |
| Leaves fleshy, pungent-pointed. Perianth enlarged and winged in fruit. Embryo spiral | 6. Salsola. |
| B. Stems jointed, leafless. Stamens 1 or 2. |
| Flowers sunk in cavities between the joints | 4. Salicornia. |
1. RHAGODIA, R. Br.
Shrubs or more rarely herbs. Leaves alternate or subopposite, sessile or petiolate. Flowers small, hermaphrodite or monœcious, rarely diœcious, sessile or very shortly pedicelled, in axillary clusters or in terminal spikes or panicles; bracts wanting. Perianth 5-lobed or -partite; segments obtuse, concave, hardly enlarged in fruit. Stamens 5 or fewer, inserted at the base of the perianth; filaments subulate, flattened. Ovary subglobose; styles 2 or very rarely 3, linear or subulate. Fruit a small globose or depressed-globose berry, free from the perianth. Seed horizontal, flattened; testa crustaceous; embryo annular, surrounding the copious mealy albumen.
A small genus of 11 species, all Australian, but one of them found in New Zealand as well.
1. R. nutans, R. Br. Prodr. 408.—A much-branched prostrate or procumbent herb, green or the young leaves and branches more or less clothed with white mealy tomentum; stems 9–24 in. long, usually hard and woody at the base. Leaves opposite and alternate, petiolate, ¼–1 in. long, lanceolate or oblong-lanceolate or hastate, acute, cuneate or truncate or cordate at the base, entire, rather thin. Flowers minute, polygamous or dioecious, arranged in short loose-flowered spikes or panicles in the upper axils or terminating the branches. Perianth-segments ovate, obtuse, mealy-tomentose. Male flowers usually with 3 stamens; female flowers with 1 or 2 abortive stamens. Ovary depressed-globose; styles 2. Fruit globose, fleshy, bright-red, ⅛ in. diam.—Benth. Fl. Austral. v. 156; Cheesem. in Trans. N.Z. Inst. xvi. (1884) 408.
Kermadec Islands, North Island: Rocky places near the sea, not uncommon. Also plentiful in east Australia, from Queensland southwards.
Closely resembles Chenopodium triandrum in habit and foliage, and is easily mistaken for it in the absence of fruit. It probably occurs in the South Island, but I have seen no specimens from thence.
2. CHENOPODIUM, Linn.
Annual or perennial erect or prostrate herbs, rarely woody at the base, mealy or glandular-pubescent, seldom glabrous. Leaves alternate, entire or lobed or toothed. Flowers minute, greenish, usually hermaphrodite, sessile in clusters; clusters axillary or in terminal spikes or panicles. Perianth 5-partite, rarely 3–4-partite; segments obtuse, incurved and concave, not at all or very slightly altered in fruit. Stamens 5 or fewer; filaments filiform or flattened, sometimes connate at the base. Ovary depressed or ovoid, styles 2–3, free or united at the base. Fruit an ovoid or depressed membranous utricle, wholly or partially included in the persistent perianth. Seed horizontal or vertical; testa crustaceous; embryo annular, enclosing the copious mealy albumen.
A widely distributed genus of from 50 to 60 species, most abundant in temperate climates. Of those described below, three are common in many parts of the world as weeds of cultivation or wayside plants, and may not be true natives of New Zealand.
* Seed horizontal (rarely vertical in C. glaucum). :
| Intensely fœtid, prostrate or decumbent, mealy-pulverulent. Leaves ⅙–½ in., triangular-hastate, entire. Flowers in small dense axillary clusters | 1. C. detestans. |
| Prostrate or trailing, often glaucous, mealy-pulverulent. Leaves ¼–1 in., triangular oblong or hastate, entire. Flowers in lax axillary or terminal spikes or panicles | 2. C. triandrum. |
| Prostrate, fleshy. Leaves ½–1½ in., oblong or deltoid, sinuate-lobed, mealy beneath. Flowers in axillary or terminal spikes | 3. C. glaucum. |
| Erect or spreading, green or slightly mealy. Leaves ¾–1½ in., triangular or rhomboid, toothed or lobed. Flowers in axillary or terminal spikes or panicles | 4. C. urbicum. |
| Erect, aromatic, glandular-pubescent, not mealy. Leaves 1–4 in., ovate-lanceolate, sinuate-toothed. Flowers very numerous, in slender axillary spikes | 5. C. ambrosioides. |
| ** Seed vertical. |
| Glandular-pubescent. Stems 6–18 in., decumbent below, erect above. Leaves ¼–¾ in., oblong, sinuate-lobed or pinnatifid. Flowers in dense axillary fascicles | 6. C. carinatum. |
| Small, glandular-pubescent, much branched, prostrate, 2–6 in. long. Leaves 1/10–1/3 in., broadly oblong or orbicular, obscurely sinuate. Flowers in axillary glomerules | 7. C pusillum. |
1. C. detestans, T. Kirk in Trans. N.Z. Inst. ix. (1877) 550.—A much-branched prostrate or decumbent herb, more or less clothed with a whitish granular meal, and with a strong and offensive ​odour of stale fish; branches numerous from the root, slender, spreading, 6–18 in. long. Leaves on slender petioles; blade ⅙–½ in. long, rarely more, triangular-hastate or rhomboid-ovate, acute, cuneate at the base, entire or with a single tooth on each side. Flowers small, abundantly produced, in dense oblong or globose axillary fascicles, often becoming leafy spikes at the tips of the branches. Perianth-segments 4 or 5, oblong, obtuse, membranous, not completely concealing the fruit. Stamens usually 4. Utricle small, horizontal, depressed, brownish-black, minutely punctulate.
South Island: Canterbury—Broken River Basin, Enys! Kirk! T.F.C.; Lake Coleridge, Enys! Otago—Lakes Wanaka and Hawea, Kirk! Petrie! Maniototo Plain, Cromwell, and other localities in the north and central portions of the province, Petrie! 1000–3000 ft. January–March.
Closely allied to the northern C. vulvaria, Linn., but a smaller plant with smaller often hastate leaves, and with the flowers in dense globose fascicles.
2. C. triandrum, Forst. Prodr. n. 129.—A much-branched prostrate or trailing herb, pale-green, glabrous or more or less mealytomentose; stems slender, 6–18 in. long, sometimes almost woody at the base. Leaves opposite or alternate, petiolate, ¼–1 in. long, very variable in shape, broadly oblong or orbicular to broadly triangular-hastate, obtuse or rounded at the tip, cuneate or rounded or truncate at the base, thin and membranous, green and glabrous or slightly mealy; petioles slender. Flowers very minute, farinose, in axillary or terminal lax-flowered spikes or panicles. Perianth-segments 4, oblong, obtuse. Stamens 2–4. Styles 2–3. Utricle depressed, more or less covered by the persistent perianth. Seed horizontal, minutely punctate, adherent to the utricle.—A. Rich. Fl. Nouv. Zel. 180; A. Cunn. Precur. n. 361; Raoul, Choix, 43; Hook. f. Fl. Nov. Zel. i. 212; Handb. N.Z. Fl. 230.
North and South islands: From the North Cape southwards to Foveaux Strait, not uncommon near the sea, rare and local inland. November–March.
3. C. glaucum, Linn. Sp. Plant. 220.—A much-branched prostrate fleshy and succulent annual herb; branches widely spreading, flaccid, glabrous, striate, 4–18 in. long, rarely ascending at the tips. Leaves petiolate, the lower ones ½–1½ in. long, oblong-lanceolate to ovate-oblong or rhomboid, usually obtuse at the tip, cuneate at the base, coarsely and angularly sinuate-toothed or -lobed, fleshy when fresh, thin when dry, green and glabrous above, white with mealy down beneath; upper ones smaller and narrower and more entire. Flowers small, in little clusters arranged in simple or compound axillary or terminal spikes, which are usually more or less farinose. Fruiting-perianth 3–5-partite; segments short, obtuse, appressed to the fruit but not altogether concealing it. Seed horizontal or occasionally vertical, smooth, margins obtuse. ​A. Cunn. Precur. n. 363; Raoul, Choix, 43; Hook. f. Fl. Nov. Zel. i. 213; Handb. N.Z. Fl. 230; Benth. Fl. Austral. v. 161. C. ambiguum, R. Br. Prodr. 407.
North and South Islands, Stewart Island: Common throughout in muddy or sandy places near the sea, also occasionally found in saline localities inland. November–March.
Also occurs in Australia and Tasmania, and common in many parts of Europe and temperate Asia, &c. The New Zealand and Australian plant is sometimes kept as a separate variety or species (C. ambiguum, E. Br.), but the differences appear to be slight and inconstant.
4. C. urbicum, Linn. Sp. Plant. 218.—A coarse erect or spreading branching herb 1–2 ft. high or more, green and glabrous or rarely slightly mealy; stem angled, grooved. Lower leaves on slender petioles ½–1 in. long; blade ¾–1½ in., triangular or rhombic-ovate, coarsely and irregularly toothed and lobed, rather thin, green on both surfaces, veined; upper smaller, narrower, more acute. Flowers small, in little clusters arranged in dense leafless axillary spikes, or in terminal panicles which are leafy below. Stamens 5, exserted. Styles short. Fruiting-perianth 1/15 in. diam.; segments obtuse, not completely covering the utricle. Seed horizontal, much depressed, minutely punctulate, margins obtuse.—Hook. f. Fl. Nov. Zel. i. 213; Handb. N.Z. Fl. 230.
North Island: East Coast, Colenso! Has also appeared as a naturalised plant near Wellington. South Island: Not uncommon, especially in South Canterbury and Otago. Sea-level to 1000 ft. December–March.
A common European weed, which has become naturalised in North America and some other countries. It is probably not a true native of New Zealand.
5. C. ambrosioides, Linn. Sp. Plant. 219.—An erect much-branched strong-smelling glandular annual herb 1–3 ft. high; branches slender, strict, leafy. Leaves shortly petiolate, 1–4 in. long, ovate- or oblong-lanceolate to lanceolate, acute or acuminate, cuneate at the base, coarsely sinuate-toothed or -lobed, membranous, glabrous or pubescent, green, not mealy; upper ones gradually smaller, linear-lanceolate, entire or nearly so. Flowers exceedingly numerous, very minute, in little clusters in slender axillary often elongated spikes, frequently so copiously produced as to render the upper portion of the plant a large leafy panicle. Stamens 5. Styles 3–4, elongate. Fruiting-perianth about 1/25 in. diam., segments closed over the fruit and completely enclosing it. Seed horizontal or rarely vertical, smooth, polished, shining, margins obtuse.—Hook. f. Fl. Nov. Zel. i. 213; Handb. N.Z. Fl. 230; Benth. Fl. Austral. v. 162.
North Island: Warm lowland stations from the North Cape to Taranaki and Hawke's Bay, not common. Has also appeared as a naturalised plant near Wellington. December–April.
​Easily distinguished by the erect glabrous habit, strong aromatic smell, large comparatively narrow leaves, and long slender spikes of very small flowers. It is widely distributed in many warm climates.
6. C. carinatum, R. Br. Prodr. 407.—A much-branched strong-smelling glandular-pubescent herb; stems usually decumbent at the base, erect or ascending above, 6–18 in. long. Leaves on slender petioles; blade variable in size, ¼–¾ in. long or more, oblong-lanceolate to oblong or ovate-oblong, obtuse, cuneate at the base, sinuate-lobed or -pinnatifid, rather thick, both surfaces rough with glandular pubescence. Flowers small, very copiously produced, in dense glomerules occupying almost all the axils, sometimes elongated into short leafy spikes. Perianth-segments 5, erect, incurved over the fruit, more or less glandular-pubescent. Stamen usually 1. Utricle small, compressed, erect, the pericarp adherent to the seed.—Hook. f. Fl. Nov. Zel. i. 213; Handb. N.Z. Fl. 231; Benth. Fl. Austral. v. 162. C. botrys, A. Cunn. Precur. n. 862 (not of Linn.). Blitum carinatum and B. glandulosum, Moq. in D.C. Prodr. xiii. ii. 81, 82.
North and South Islands: Warm dry soils from the North Cape to central Otago, rare and local. December–March.
A common Australian plant. It was collected at the Bay of Islands by Cunningham, and may be truly native in the North Auckland peninsula. Elsewhere it is doubtless naturalised.
7. C. pusillum, Hook. f. Handb. N.Z. Fl. 231.—A much-branched decumbent or prostrate glandular-pubescent little plant; branches spreading on all sides, 2–6 in. long, slender, leafy, ascending at the tips. Leaves on slender petioles; blade very variable in size, 1/10–1/3 in. diam. or more, broadly oblong to ovate-oblong or orbicular, rounded at the tip, quite entire or obscurely smuate, rather thin, both surfaces glandular-pubescent, veins prominent beneath. Flowers very minute, in small and dense few- or many-flowered axillary glomerules. Perianth-segments usually 4, erect, linear-oblong, concave, membranous, pubescent, incurved over the fruit but not completely concealing it. Stamen usually 1. Utricle small, erect, ovate, compressed, the pericarp not adhering to the seed.—C. pumilio, Hook. f. Fl. Nov. Zel. i. 214 (not of R. Br.).
North Island: Sandy shores of the East Coast and Lake Taupo, Colenso! South Island: Near Nelson, Captain F. W. Hutton! Lake Lyndon (Canterbury), Enys! Kirk! T.F.C. Sea-level to 2500 ft.
I have had no opportunity of comparing this with the closely allied C. pumilio, R. Br., from Australia. According to Hooker, it is mainly distinguished by the membranous perianth-segments.
3. ATRIPLEX, Linn.
Herbs or shrubs, usually more or less mealy or scurfy-tomentose. Leaves alternate or rarely opposite. Flowers unisexual, usually in clusters arranged in simple or panicled spikes, the sexes distinct or mixed in the clusters. Male flowers ebracte​ate. Perianth 3–5-partite; segments oblong or obovate, obtuse. Stamens 3–5. Female flowers 2-bracteate; bracts small at first, erect and appressed, distinct or more or less connate, enlarged in fruit and forming a variously shaped 2-valved covering to the utricle. Perianth wanting or very rarely of 2–5 hyaline segments. Ovary small; styles 2, filiform. Utricle entirely concealed within the base of the greatly enlarged and thickened bracts; pericarp thin, membranous. Seed compressed, vertical or very rarely horizontal; testa thin, crustaceous or coriaceous; embryo annular, surrounding the copious mealy albumen.
A large genus of about 120 species, widely spread through most parts of the globe, but chiefly along sea-coasts or in saline localities. One of the New Zealand species is a weed of probably northern origin, two others are found in Australia, the fourth is endemic.
| Erect branching shrub 1–4 ft. high, white with scurfy tomentum. Leaves 1–2 in., oblong, entire. Fruiting-bracts ¼ in., ovate-rhomboid | 1. A. cinerea. |
| Erect or diffuse annual 1–2 ft. high, green or sparingly mealy. Leaves 1–3 in., lanceolate to deltoid, entire or toothed. Fruiting-bracts 1/10–1/8 in., ovate-rhomboid | 2. A. pattila. |
| Prostrate, much branched, 3–9 in. diam., white with scurfy tomentum. Leaves ⅛–⅓ in., oblong to orbicular, entire or sinuate. Fruiting-bracts ovoid, very minute | 3. A. Buchanani. |
| Prostrate, glabrous, fleshy, clothed with watery papillse, 6–18 in. long. Leaves ¼–¾ in., oblong, entire or toothed. Fruiting-bracts urceolate. Utricle transverse to the bracts, not parallel | 4. A. Billardieri. |
1. A. cinerea, Poir. Encycl. Suppl. i. 471.—A small branching shrub 1–4 ft. high, clothed in all its parts with densely appressed white or grey scurfy tomentum; stem woody; branches stout, angled, leafy. Leaves 1–2 in. long, linear-oblong or lanceolate, obtuse, narrowed into a short petiole, quite entire, midrib prominent beneath. Flowers dioecious or almost so; males in dense many-flowered simple or branched oblong spikes, which are often panicled at the ends of the branches. Females in small axillary clusters on the female plant, with occasionally 1 or 2 solitary in the axils of the upper leaves 01 the male plant. Fruiting-bracts greatly enlarged, about ¼ in. long, broadly ovate-rhomboid, subacute; disc thick and corky, swollen over the utricle, smooth or rarely tuberculate; margins thin. Utricle compressed, at the base of the bracts.—Hook. f. Fl. Nov. Zel. i. 214; Handb. N.Z. Fl. 232; Benth. Fl. Austral. v. 171.
North Island: Wellington—Sandy shores of Palliser Bay, Colenso! South Island: Vicinity of Nelson, P. Lawson! Also recorded from Canterbury, but I have seen no specimens from thence.
A common plant in many parts of Australia and Tasmania, and very closely allied to the European and African A. Halimus, Linn.
​2. A. patula, Linn. Sp. Plant. 1053.—A very variable erect or decumbent or prostrate annual herb 1–2 ft. high, green and smooth, or sparingly mealy-white. Leaves petiolate, 1–3 in. long, lanceolate to broadly triangular-hastate, acute or obtuse, entire or coarsely sinuate-toothed; the uppermost often smaller and linear, the lowest sometimes opposite. Flowers small, monoecious, in clusters arranged in rather slender spikes, often forming narrow terminal panicles; the male and female flowers mixed or occasionally some of the females form separate axillary clusters. Male perianth small, 5-partite. Fruiting-bracts ovate-rhomboid or deltoid, acute, the disc smooth or tubercled; margins toothed or entire.—Hook. f. Fl. Nov. Zel. i. 215; Handb. N.Z. Fl. 232; Benth. Fl. Austral. v. 173.
North and South Islands: Not uncommon in brackish-water swamps and other places near the sea from the Thames River southwards. December–March.
Now plentiful in almost all temperate parts of the world, either native or naturalised. How far it is indigenous in Australia and New Zealand is now very difficult to determine. The broad-leaved form known as var. hastata is the one most generally seen, but the more slender var. littoralis is also met with.
3. A. Buchanani, T. Kirk, MSS.—An excessively branched prostrate herb, forming broad depressed greyish-white patches 3–9 in. across; stem woody at the base; branchlets slender, wiry, terete. Leaves shortly petiolate or almost sessile, ⅛–⅓ in. long, oblong or oblong-ovate to suborbicular, rounded at the tip, quite entire, both surfaces densely clothed with white scurfy tomentum. Flowers minute, monœcious. Males in few-flowered clusters in the axils of the upper leaves or terminal, sometimes solitary. Perianth densely farinose, 5-partite; segments oblong, obtuse, incurved at the tip. Stamens 5, exserted; filaments filiform. Females solitary or in clusters of 2–5 in the lower axils, occasionally a few females at the base of the male clusters. Fruiting-bracts connate into an ovoid or almost urceolate 2-lipped cup. Utricle suborbicular, compressed, sunk within the base of the bracts.—Chenopodium Buchanani, Kirk in Trans. N.Z. Inst. xxii. (1898) 447, t. 32, f. 1.
North Island: Sea-cliffs near Wellington, Buchanan! Kirk! South Island: Marlborough—The Brothers Rocks, Robson! Canterbury—Near the mouth of the Rangitata, Enys! Otago—Green Island and cliffs on the East Coast, Petrie! saline places in the interior, Maniototo Plains, Ida Valley, Cromwell, Petrie! Centre Island (Foveaux Strait), Kirk! Sea-level to 1800ft. December–March .
A distinct little species. Some immature specimens in Mr. Kirk's herbarium from Cargill Cliffs, near Dunedin, are more sparingly branched and have much larger leaves, and may form a separate variety.
4. A. Billardieri, Hook. f. Fl. Nov. Zel. i. 215.—A much-branched glabrous and succulent prostrate herb, everywhere covered with shining watery papillæ; branches 6–18 in. long, spreading on ​all sides. Leaves shortly petiolate, ¼–¾ in. long, oblong or obovate, obtuse, entire or sinuate-toothed, very thick and fleshy. Flowers small, monoecious. Males fascicled at the tips of the branches, ebracteate. Perianth 5-partite; segments oblong, obtuse. Stamens 5, exserted; filaments filiform, connate at the very base. Females solitary or 2 together in the axils of the cauline leaves, minute, sessile. Fruiting-bracts combined into a shortly 2-lipped fleshy urceolate cup. Perianth wanting. Styles 2, filiform. Utricle included within the bracts, orbicular, compressed, its edges opposite to the bracts, not parallel, as is usual in the genus; pericarp very thin. Seed red-brown.—Fl. Tasm. i. 315, t. 95; Handb. N.Z. Fl. 232; Benth. Fl. Austral. v. 180. A. crystallina, Hook. f. in Hook. Lond. Journ. Bot. vi. (1847) 279. Theleophyton Billardieri, Moq. in D.C. Prodr. xiii. ii. 115.
North Island: On sandy beaches, rare and local. Auckland—North Cape, Buchanan! Takou Bay, T.F.C.; Whangaruru, Colenso; Great Barrier Island, Omaha, Kirk! between Tauranga and Maketu, Rev. F. H. Spencer! Anaura Bay (East Cape), Bishop Williams! Stewart Island: Paterson's Inlet, Petrie! Kirk! Chatham Islands: Buchanan. December–April.
A very remarkable species, differing from all others in the fruit being placed transversely to the bracts, not parallel. It is also found in Victoria and Tasmania.
4. SALICORNIA, Linn.
Annual or perennial leafless herbs, sometimes woody at the base. Stems cylindric, jointed, very succulent; branches opposite. Flowers minute, hermaphrodite or polygamous, sunk in cavities between the successive joints of the branches towards their tips, 3–7 together, free or connate at the base. Perianth obpyramidal, fleshy, flat at the top or rarely contracted; mouth 3–4-toothed. Stamens 1–2; anthers large, exserted, didymous. Ovary ovoid, narrowed above; styles 2, subulate, papillose. Utricle included in the spongy perianth, membranous, ovoid or oblong. Seed erect,, oblong or obovoid; testa thinly coriaceous or crustaceous, hispid with hooked hairs; albumen wanting; embryo folded, radicle inferior.
A small genus of about 8 species, found on most temperate or tropical seashores, and occasionally in saline places inland. The single New Zealand species also occurs in Australia and Tasmania.
1. S. australis, Soland. ex Forst. Prodr. n. 489.—Stems procumbent or almost prostrate below, sometimes woody at the base, 3–12 in. long; branches numerous, jointed, ascending or erect. Joints ¼–½ in. long, ⅛–⅕ in. diam., terete below, usually faintly compressed above, shortly 2-lobed at the tip, with a narrow chin and membranous margin. Spikes terminating the branches and rather thicker than them, ½–2 in. long, the joints short, broader than long. Flowers frequently polygamous, 5–7 together on each ​side of the branch at the top of the joints, packed side by side in a cavity between the joint and the one above, forming an almost complete ring round the branch. Perianth very thick and fleshy, broad and flat and almost quadrangular at the top, narrower at the immersed base; mouth almost closed. Stamen usually one. Utricle obliquely ovoid, membranous. Seed nearly orbicular, slightly compressed; testa crustaceous, minutely hispid; embryo with thick plano-convex cotyledons and an incumbent terete radicle.—Benth. Fl. Austral. v. 205; S. indica, R. Br. Prodr. 411 (not of Willd.); A. Rich. Fl. Nouv. Zel. 182; A. Cunn. Precur. n. 866; Raoul, Choix, 48; Hook. f. Fl. Nov. Zel. i. 216; Handb. N.Z. Fl. 288. S. quinqueflora, Bunge. ex Ung. Sternb. Vers. Syst. Salic. 59.
North and South Islands, Chatham Islands: Abundant along the shores throughout. Flowers through the summer and autumn.
5. SUÆDA, Forsk.
Glabrous herbs or undershrubs. Leaves alternate, fleshy, thick or terete, entire. Flowers minute, sessile or nearly so, axillary, solitary or clustered, usually hermaphrodite; bracts and bracteoles minute, scarious. Perianth short, fleshy, 5-lobed or -partite; lobes or segments equal or unequal, without appendages or more or less carinate or crested or slightly winged, enclosing the fruit. Stamens 5, short. Styles 2–5, short, subulate, recurved. Utricle included in the perianth, membranous or spongy; pericarp thin, usually free from the seed. Seed horizontal, vertical or oblique; testa crustaceous or coriaceous; albumen wanting or scanty; embryo flat, spirally rolled.
A widely distributed genus of about 40 species, usually found on sea-shores or in saline places. The single species found in New Zealand has a wide range in most temperate and tropical countries.
1. S. maritima, Dum. Fl. Belg. 22.—A much-branched glabrous erect or diffuse herb, varying in height from a few inches to nearly 2 ft.; stem often hard and almost woody at the base. Leaves sessile, ¼–½ in. long or more, linear, semi-terete or almost cylindric, acute or obtuse, thick and succulent. Flowers small, greenish, solitary or 2–4 together in the axils of the leaves, each flower usually with 1 bract and 2 bracteoles. Fruiting-perianth depressed, about 1/12 in. diam., 5-lobed; lobes ovate-rounded, appressed to the utricle. Utricle membranous. Seed horizontal or very rarely vertical, dark red-brown, shining.—Raoul, Choix, 43; Hook. f. Fl. Nov. Zel. i. 214; Handb. N.Z. Fl. 281; Benth. Fl. Austral. v. 206. Chenopodium maritimum, Linn. Sp. Plant. 221; A. Rich. Fl. Nouv. Zel. 181; A. Cunn. Precur. n. 864. Salsola fruticosa, Forst. Prodr. n. 181 (not of Linn.).
North and South Islands: Not uncommon in salt marshes from the North Cape to Foveaux Strait. December–March.
The Australian and New Zealand plant is sometimes separated from the northern form under the name of S. australis, Moq., on account of its more suffrutescent habit, but it is very variable in this respect.
6. SALSOLA, Linn.
Herbs or shrubs; branches not jointed. Leaves alternate, sessile, narrow-linear or terete, often pungent. Flowers small, solitary or fascicled, axillary, hermaphrodite, 2-bracteolate. Perianth 4–5-partite; segments concave, thickened down the back, enlarged in fruit and furnished with a horizontal wing or protuberance, completely enclosing the utricle. Stamens 5, rarely fewer. Styles 2–3, subulate, erect or recurved. Utricle ovoid or orbicular; pericarp fleshy or membranous, not adherent to the seed. Seed usually horizontal, orbicular; testa membranous; albumen wanting; embryo spirally coiled.
Species estimated at about 40, widely spread in saline localities, but mainly in temperate regions.
1. S. Kali, Linn. Sp. Plant. 222.—A rigid procumbent or diffusely branciied herb 6–18 in. high; stem stout, grooved and angled, scabrid-pubescent or almost glabrous; branches spreading, often striped. Leaves spreading and recurved, variable in size, ¼–1 in. long or more, ovate-subulate with a rigid pungent point, sheathing at the base, thick and fleshy, semi-terete; the uppermost shorter and broader, almost triangular. Flowers solitary and sessile in the axils of the leaves, sometimes appearing clustered from the reduction of axillary flowering-branches, each flower with 2 opposite bracteoles; floral leaves and bracteoles all pungent. Fruiting-perianth about ¼ in. diam., shorter than the bracteoles, 5-partite; segments rigid and cartilaginous at the base, furnished above with 5 broad spreading scarious wings.—Benth. Fl. Austral. v. 207. S. australis, R. Br. Prodr. 411; Hook. f. Fl. Nov. Zel. i. 216; Handb. N.Z. Fl. 232.
North and South Islands: Not uncommon on sandy shores from the North Cape southwards, but probably introduced. December–March.
A widely dispersed plant in most temperate and tropical regions, but of very doubtful nativity in New Zealand. It is a true native of Australia, however.