The plants belonging to this order bear considerable resemblance to those included in the order Amaranthaceæ, but their flowers are disposed in loose clusters without bracts, and all their parts are fleshy; while the flowers of the Amaranthaceæ are disposed in dense spikes with bracts, which, as well as the divisions of the flowers, are quite hard and dry. The stamens are five in number, and they are spread out like those of the Nettle tribe; there are two styles with hairy stigmas, and the capsule resembles the Echinus, or Sea Urchin. The principal genera in this order are,—Spinach (_Spinacea_), Red and White Beet (_Beta vulgaris_), Mangold Wurtzel (_B. altissima_), Chard Beet (_B. cicla_), the Strawberry Blite (_Blitum_), Fat-hen or Goosefoot (_Chenopodium_); Glasswort, the ashes of which are used in making glass (_Salicornia_), Saltwort (_Salsola Kali_, or _Soda_), from the ashes of which soda is prepared; and the Garden Orache (_Atriplex hortensis_). The leaves of all the species are somewhat succulent and pulpy, and they are frequently stained with brilliant colours. ORDER CLVI.—BEGONIACEÆ. The only genus in this tribe is Begonia, the plants belonging to which have pretty flowers, and strongly-veined leaves, which are crimson on the lower side, with one half smaller than the other, and each furnished with a pair of large stipules. The flowers are male and female; the first consist of four sepals, two of which are much longer than the others, and a beard of anthers, with the filaments united into one common stalk, and each anther containing two cells for pollen. The female flowers have five sepals; the lower part is thick and fleshy, having three unequal wings. This part becomes the capsule, and it is furnished with three stigmas, each of which has two curiously-twisted lobes. The capsule when ripe has three wings, one much longer than the others; and it is in three cells, each containing a central placenta with a double row of seeds, which are covered with a beautifully reticulated skin. ORDER CLVII.—POLYGONEÆ.—THE BUCKWHEAT. This order comprehends the Rhubarb (_Rheum_), the Dock (_Rumex obtusifolius_), Sorrel (_R. acetosa_), the Buckwheat (_Polygonum Fagopyrum_), Persicaria (_P. orientale_), Water-pepper (_P. hydropiper_), and Knot-grass (_P. aviculare_). The leaves of these plants either sheath the stem with the base of their petioles, or are furnished with ochreæ, that is, with stipules which are joined together so as to form a kind of purse or boot. The flowers are inconspicuous, and the fruit is a triangular nut, retaining the calyx till it is ripe. The genera Eriogonum, Calligonum, and Kœnigia, formerly included in this order, are now formed into another, called Eriogoneæ. ORDER CLVIII.—LAURINEÆ.—THE SWEET-BAY TRIBE.