FLOWERING PLANTS OF THE SEA-SIDE 415 



short petioles, and the presence of only one or two flowers on each 

 peduncle. 



Passing now to the Sea Mallow (Lavatera arborea), we are 

 dealing with another rather rare plant, of the order Malvacea, 

 sometimes met with on rocky coasts, chiefly, it appears, on the 

 north coast of Cornwall and Devon. This is a very shrubby plant, 

 as its specific name implies, and it is sometimes popularly known 

 as the Tree Mallow on that account. It has a very woody stem, 

 growing to a height of four or five feet, and bearing seven-pointed, 

 downy leaves, and solitary, axillary, purple flowers. As in the other 

 mallows, the flowers have five petals, which are curiously twisted 

 when in the bud, five sepals, a large number of stamens united 

 into a tube, and an ovary of many cells, but it may be distinguished 

 from the other species of the order by its three-lobed bracts. The 

 plant is found principally in wild, uncultivated spots, but is 

 commonly grown as a garden plant by the cottagers of villages 

 in the south-west, and under cultivation it frequently grows 

 to a height of nine or ten feet, with a tree-like stem three or four 

 inches in thickness ; and it produces such a quantity of fibre 

 that its cultivation for manufacturing purposes has been sug- 

 gested. 



We now come to another of the very extensive orders, at least 

 as far as British plants are concerned, although it contains 

 only a few sea-side species. We refer to the Caryophyllacece, 

 containing the pinks, campions, catchflies, chickweeds, &c. The 

 chief features of the order are jointed, herbaceous stems, opposite 

 leaves, and regular white or red flowers with four or five sepals 

 and petals, eight or ten stamens, and a capsular fruit opening at the 

 top with teeth. 



One of the commonest species we have to consider is the Sea 

 Campion (Silene maritima), common on nearly all coasts, and 

 often growing in small crevices of the bare rocks quite within the 

 reach of the spray of storm-waves. In common with the other 

 members of its genus it is characterised by a tubular calyx of 

 united sepals, ten stamens, and a three-celled capsule opening at 

 the top with six teeth ; but it may be known at once by its small 

 size, being only a few inches in height, and its solitary flowers with 

 calyx much inflated and the corolla only shortly cleft. 



The Sea Sand Wort (Spergularia marina) is another common 

 plant of the coast, recognised by its slender, creeping stems ; linear, 

 stipuled, fleshy leaves, convex below and blunt at the apex ; and 



