ALSINACEAE 421 
9. Alsinopsis Caroliniana ( Walt.) Small. Perennial, tufted, slender. Stems much 
branched at the base, the branches ascending or decumbent, 0.5-3 dm. tall, very leafy below, 
glandular, often viscid and nearly naked above, the scape-like portion sparingly forking near 
the top: leaves firm ; blades linear-subulate, 0.5-1 em. long, acute, channeled above, ses- 
sile, imbricated on the lower part of the branches: cymes few-flowered : pedicels slender, 
1-5 em. long : sepals ovate, 2.5 mm. long, obtuse : petals oblanceolate, about thrice as long 
as the sepals, rounded at the apex : capsules ovoid, nearly twice as long as the sepals: seeds 
0.5 mm. broad. [Arenaria squarrosa Michx. ] 
On sand hills and in pine lands, New York to Florida. Spring and summer. 
9. ARENARIA L. 
Annual or perennial herbs, sometimes woody at the base, with more or less diffusely 
branched stems. Leaves opposite, sometimes clustered, without stipules: blades flattened 
or merely subulate or filiform. Flowers in open or capitate cymes or solitary in the 
axils. Sepals 5, often ribbed. Petals 5, white, entire or rarely notched, occasionally 
wanting. Stamens normally 10: filaments slender. Ovary 1-celled: styles 3, or rarely 
2-5. Capsule globose to oblong, opening by twice as many tooth-like valves as there are 
styles. Seeds numerous, sometimes flattened. SANDWORT. 
Plants annual. 
Sepals pubescent: pedicels less than 13 mm. long. 1. A. serpyllifolia. 
Sepals glabrous: pedicels over 13 mm. long. 2. A. Benthamit. 
Plants perennial. 3. A. lanuginosa. 
l. Arenaria serpyllifdlia L. Annual, slender, puberulent and roughish, bright 
green. Stem diffusely branched, the branches spreading, 1-4 dm. long, at length wire- 
like: leaf-blades ovate or broadly elliptic, 2-6 mm. long, short-acuminate, with very 
minute spine-like cilia, narrowed at the base, sessile or mainly so: sepals 5, lanceolate, 
3-4 mm. long, acuminate, with broad hyaline margins and spine-like hairs on the back : 
petals oblong-ovate, 2 mm. long, obtuse, white, shorter than the sepals, clawed : anthers 
lilac: capsules conie, 2.5-4 mm. long, yellowish green, slightly constricted above the 
middle, the valves lanceolate. 
.In dry soil or waste places, throughout North America, except northern British America. Nat- 
uralized from Europe. Native also of Asia. Spring. 
2. Arenaria Benthámii Fenzl. Annual, slender, bright green. Stems more or less 
branched at the base, the branches wire-like, erect or ascending, 0.5-1.5 dm. tall, forking, 
pubescent in lines: leaf-blades thickish, the lower ones spatulate or elliptic-spatulate, 
petioled, the upper ones oblong or elliptic, sessile, all acute, sparingly ciliate : pedicels 
filiform, 1.5-3 em. long: sepals ovate, 2.5 mm. long, acutish : petals elliptic, nearly as 
long as the sepals, slightly acuminate at the apex: capsules ovoid, about 3 mm. long, 
acutish : seeds reniform, about 0.6 mm. broad, minutely tuberculate. 
On rocky hillsides, Texas. Spring. 
3. Arenaria lanugindsa (Michx.) Rohrb. Perennial, slender, light green. Stems 
branched at the base, the branches spreading, prostrate, 3-13 dm. long, forking, more or less 
pubescent with hooked hairs: leaf-blades narrowly elliptic or linear-spatulate, 1-2 cm. 
long, acute, sessile or short-petioled : pedicels filiform, 1.5-4 cm. long: sepals lanceolate, 
2.5-3.5 mm. long, acute : petals 1—5, shorter than the sepals or none: capsules ovoid, about 
as long as the sepals: seeds 0.8 mm. long, shining. [Arenaria diffusa Ell] 
In shaded situations, North Carolina to Texas and Florida. Spring to fall. 
10. ALSINE L. 
Annual or perennial herbs, with weak spreading stems. Leaves opposite: blades nar- 
row or dilated. Flowers in more or less open cymes. Sepals 5 or 4, not ribbed. Petals 
5 or 4, white, 2-cleft or 2-parted, rarely wanting. Stamens 10 or fewer, hypogynous : fila- 
ments slender. Ovary l-celled : styles 3 or 4, or rarely 5, usually opposite the sepals. 
Capsule relatively short, opening by twice as many valves as there are styles. Seeds flat- 
tened or globose. [Stellaria L.] CnrckwEED. STARWORT. SrITCHWORT. 
Styles 5. 1. A. aquatica. 
Styles 3 or rarely 4. 
A. Corolla present. 
a. Leaf-blades manifestly petioled. : : 
Petals shorter than the sepals: sepals mostly over 3 mm. long. os media. nae 
Petals longer than the sepals: sepals mostly less than 3 mm. long. 3. A. Baldwinii. 
