500 ALSINACEAE 
1. A. serpyllifolia L. Plant 1—4 dm. tall, erect, sometimes in much-branched 
tufts: leaf-blades n a or oval, 2-8 mm. long, ciliolate, hispidulous: 
outer sepals lanceolat , 2-9 2.0 mm. long, be- 
coming strongly ribbed: petals white, shorter 
than the sepals: capsule with a tur gid base B d 
and a constricted tip, s 2.5 mm. long. 
—(THYME-LEAVED SANDWORT.)—Dry soil, 
woods, fields, roadsides d waste- -plaees, 
widely distributed in the U. S. and S Can. 
Nat. of Eurasi Spr. j 
ar 
E a.—spr.—A related species, 
A. leptoclados Guss. with smaller and - 
rower lea and n more slender 
pected in N. C.; it has been found in 
2. A. ua (Michx.) Rohrb. Plant 
] 
dm. - 
tic, 1-2.5 em. long, eciliate, often obscurely fine-pubescent: outer sepals diss. : 
2.5—9.0 mm. long, ee ribbed: petals white, much shorter than the sepals: cap- 
sule ovoid, abou ng.—Woods, shaded banks, swamps, and hammocks, 
Coastal Plain us i pcm Fla. to Tex. and N. C.—(W. I.)—Spr. —fall. 
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5. HOLOSTEUM [Dil.] L. Annual tender herbs. Leaf-blades flat. 
Flowers in umbellike cymes. Sepals 5, persistent. Petals 5, emarginate or 
t j nder 
—Three species, natives of Europe and tem- 
perate Asia. 
H. umbellatum L. Plants 8—40 em. tall: 
leaf-blades elliptie or oblanceolate d to 
elliptic or lanceolate above, 1-3 long: 
Ep bag pu 4-5 mm cor seule 5.5- 
6.5 lon ng, oothed: caps m. 0-6 mm. 
lon ng.— “(TAG ED-CHICK WEED. ) —Cul t. gro unds, 
roadsides, and waste- -places, Coastal Plein, 
a. to Pa. d N. Nat. of Eu.—Spr.— 
This chickweed is one of d very pe 
spring pla The pale-green or glau 
foliage is pe strongly eon sed with 
that of the usually darker-green plants of the fields. and roadsides where this 
plant thrives. The flowers are white or pinkish. 
6. CERASTIUM L. Annual or perennial herbs. Leaf-blades herbaceous. 
Flowers eymose. Sepals 5, or 4, ribless. Petals 5, or 4, notched or 2-cleft, 
or rarely wanting. Stamens 10 or fewer. Stigmas 5 or 4, stout. Capsule much 
exceeding the calyx. Medis 50 species, natives mostly of jid regions.— 
Spr.-early sum.—MOUSE-EAR CHICKWEEDS. CERASTIUMS.—The various species 
of pais exhibit a contrasts in flowers. The white or pinkish, or 
rarely greenish, corollas of some species form conspicuous patches when the 
plants are in flower, while in other species the petals are so small that they are 
scarcely visible. 
