PINK FAMILY. 67 



7. SAGINA, PEARLWORT. (Latin name, means rich nourishment, 

 which, however, these small and insignificant plants can hardly he.) There 

 are four or five species in the country, none very common ; the most so is 



S. prociimbens. Springy places and damp shores, &c., N. ; a smooth 

 little plant, tufted and spreading, l'-3' high, with almost thread-shaped leaves; 

 the blunt sepals, short white petals, stamens, and styles 4 or rarely 5. 



8. CERASTIUM, MOUSE-EAR CHICKWEED. (Name in Greek 

 refers to the horn-shaped pod of some species. The popular name is from the 

 shape and soft hairiness of the leaves of the common species.) 



* Flowers inconspicuous, the, deeply 2-cleft petals being shorter or little longer than 



the calyx ; the pods becoming much longer and curving more or lens. Flower- 

 ing all summer, white. 



C. VUlgatum, COMMON M., from Penn. S., but scarce N., in grassy places. 

 An insignificant soft-hairy weed ; stems erect, 4' - 9' high, slightly clammy ; 

 leaves ovate or obovate, small ; pedicels even in fruit and petals shorter than 

 the calyx. 



C. viscbsum, CLAMMY M. Common in grassy places ; stems spreading, 

 6'- 15' long, clammy-hairy ; leaves oblong ; pedicels' becoming longer than the 

 calyx ; petals as long as the calyx. ^ 



C. niltans, NODDING-FRUITED M. Common in moist or shady grounds, 

 wild. Clammy-pubescent, erect, 6' -18' high, becoming very loosely-flowered 

 and branched ; leaves oblong-lanceolate ; petals longer than calyx ; pods long, 

 nodding on the slender flower-stalk and curved upwards. 



* * Flowers conspicuous, the snowy white petals 2 or 3 times the length of the calyx: 



pod shorter : plants forming matted tufts. 2/ 



C. arv^nse, FIELD M. Dry fields, &c. Downy but green ; leaves vary- 

 ing from narrow-oblong to linear; flowering stems 4' -6' high, few-flowered; 

 petals notched at the end. 



C. toment6sum, COTTONY M. Cult, from Eu. for borders, &c., its 

 spreading shoots, crowded with oblong white-woolly leaves, making dense silvery 

 mats ; petals deeply 2-cleft. 



9. STELLARIA, STARWORT-CHICKWEED. (Name from Latin 

 stella, a star.) Petals white, but sometimes small or none. Fl. spring and 

 summer. None cultivated ; but the first is a weed in every garden. 



* Stems weak and spreading, marked with pubescent lines : leaves broad. 



S. m&dia, COMMON S. or CHICKWEED. In all damp cult, grounds ; 

 leaves ovate or oblong, the lower on hairy petioles ; petals shorter than the 

 calyx, 2-parted ; stamens 3-10. 



S. ptlbera, GREAT S. Shaded rocks, wild from Penn. S. & W. ; leaves 

 oblong or oval, sessile ; petals longer than the calyx, 2-cleft. 



* * Stems erect or spreading, and whole plant smooth : leaves narrow, sessile. ^ 



S. Iongif61ia, LONG-LEAVED S. or STITCHWORT. Common in damp 

 grassy places N. ; stem weak, 8' -18' high; leaves linear, widely spreading; 

 flowers numerous on slender spreading pedicels in a very loose cyme ; petals 

 2-parted, longer than the calyx. 



S. borealis, NORTHERN S. Wet grassy places N. ; stem 3' -10' high, 

 forking repeatedly and with flowers in the forks of the leafy branches ; leaves 

 broadly lanceolate or narrow-oblong ; petals shorter than the calyx, or none. 



10. ARENARIA, SAND WORT. (So named because several grow in 

 sand or sandy soil.) All the following are wild, also some others less com- 

 mon. Fl. spring and summer. 



* Petals inconspicuous, white. 



A. serpyllif61ia, THYME-LEAVED S. An insignificant little weed, in 

 sandy or gravelly waste places, 2' - 6' high ; stems erect, roughish, much 

 branched ; leaves" ovate, pointed ; petals scarcely longer than the 3 - 5-nerved 

 pointed sepals. 



