142 XVII. CARYOPHYLLACEiE (OLIVER). 



6. ARENARIA, Linn. ; Benth. et Hook. f. Gen. PL i. 149. 



Sepals 5 (rarely 4), free. Petals as many, entire or emarginate or 0. 

 Stamens 10 (or 8). Ovary 1-celled ; ovules indefinite ; styles usually 3. 

 Capsule globose to obloug-ovoid, dehiscing in as many or twice as many 

 teeth or valves. Seeds globose or compressed, tubercled or smooth. — Annual 

 or perennial herbs. Leaves subulate, rigid, slender or plane. Flowers 

 cymose, usually white. 



A large genus of the temperate and arctic zones and alpine regions between the tropics. 



Leaves subulate. Capsule 3-valved I. A. Schimperi. 



Leaves ovate. Capsule 6-valved or -toothed 2. A. serpyUifoha. 



1. A. (§ Ahine) Schimperi, Hochst. ; Rich. FL Abyss, i. 47. A pro- 

 cumbent, diffuse or tufted perennial, with a branching woody stock ; the- 

 flowering-stems erect or decumbent, 2 or 3 in. or more in height. Leaves 

 finely subulate, spreading, about \-\ in. long, often appearing tufted from 

 numerous axillary leaf-buds. Flowers in loose forking cymes ; pedicels gla- 

 brous or puberulous. Calyx rather truncate at the base when dry ; sepals 

 lanceolate, acute, 3-nerved, equalling the oblong-lanceolate, obtuse, entire 

 petals. Styles 3. Capsule dehiscing in 3 valves, rather shorter than the 

 calyx. 



Mile Land. Rocky and mountainous places, Abyssinia, Schimper ! Roth ! and others ; 

 Sennar ? (var. graminifolia, Webb, Frag. Fl. iEthiop. 36). 



2. A. serpyllifolia, Linn. ; DO. Prod. i. 411. A weak erect or 

 diffuse, much-branched, puberulous annual, from a few inches to 1 »., 

 supported by taller growths. Leaves ovate or rotundate, acute or apiculate, 

 usually from 1-3 lines long. Capsule dehiscing by 6 valves or teeth, often 

 unequally. 



Nile Land. Abyssinia, Schimper ! Nubia {Sckweinf. et Asch. Enum.). 

 A common weed in Europe and temperate Asia. 



7. SAGINA, Linn. ; Benth. et Hook. f. Gen. PL i. 151. 



Sepals 4-5-6. Petals as many entire, or 0. Stamens as many or twice 

 as many or fewer by abortion. Ovary 1-celled ; ovules indefinite. Styles as 

 many as sepals and alternate with them. Capsule dehiscing to the base ffl 

 as many valves as styles. — Low tufted or procumbent herbs with subulate 

 leaves and small pedicellate flowers. 



A small genus, chiefly confined to the cooler regions of the northern hemisphere 



1. S. abyssinica, Hochst. ; Rich. Fl. Abyss, i. 47. A diffuse or some- 

 times, in exposed places, densely tufted, glabrous perennial, throwing up nu ' 

 merous, leafy flowering-stems, 1-6 in. long. Leaves subulate ; the lower 

 often densely tufted and sometimes growing out to 1£ in. Flowers alternate 

 or cymosely fascicled on capillary pedicels. Calyx rather broadly rounded or 

 subtruncate below ; sepals 4-6, obtuse, exceeding the entire petals, erect or 

 scarcely spreading after flowering. 



