424 CARYOPHYLLACEAE 



1-6 cm. long, obtuse or acute, sessile : flowei"s in open cymes : pedicels finally bent or 

 hooked at the apex, often conspicuously elongated : sepals oblong or oblong-lanceolate, 4-5 

 mm. long, acute : petals linear-oblong, notched at the apex, slightly longer than the 

 sepals, very delicate : capsules slender, 9-13 mm. long, nodding, curved upward : seeds 

 0.8 mm. broad. [Cerastium nutans Raf. ] 



In woods, Nova Scotia to British Columbia, Florida and Mexico. Spring. Powder-horx. 



6. Cerastiuni brachypodum ( Engelm. ) Robinson. Annual, slender, pale green. 

 Stem simple or branched at the base, the branches erect or ascending, 0.5-1.5 dm. tall, simple 

 or forked above : leaf-blades thickish, the lower ones oblanceolate or spatulate, the stem- 

 leaves oblanceolate, oblong or linear-oblong, l-o cm. long, acute or obtuse : flowers in open 

 or sometimes congested cymes : sepals lanceolate, o-4 cm. long, acute or acuminate : petals 

 longer than the sepals : capsules 5-8 nun. long, about as long as the pedicels or slightly 

 shorter: seeds 0.5 mm. in diameter. 



In dry soil, Illinois to South Dakota, Georgia, Texas. Arizona and Mexico. Spring and summer. — 

 The state with congested cymes and very slender capsules is, C. brachi/pochnn rompucium Robinson ; it 

 occurs from Xebraska to Texas. 



7. Cerastlum arvense L. Perennial, slender, softly pubescent. Stem usually much 

 branched at the base, often matted, the branches erect or ascending, 1-4 dm. tall, simple 

 or sparingly forking above, often nearly naked : leaf-blades thick, the lower ones some- 

 times spatulate, or narrowly oblanceolate, the rest linear or linear-lanceolate, 3-5 cm. long, 

 acute, sessile : flowers in open cymes on erect elongating pedicels : sepals oblong-lanceolate, 

 4-5 mm. long, acutish : petals cuneate, fully twice as long as the sepals, deeply notched : 

 capsules about equalling the sepals. 



On dry or rocky hillsides, Labrador to Alaska, Georgia and California. Spring. 



Family 11. CARYOPHYLLACEAE Reichenb. Pink Family. 



Annual or perennial herb.s, with a watery sap and u.sually erect stems enlarged 

 at the nodes. Leaves opposite : blades commonly narrow, often with connate 

 bases : stipules wanting. Flowers perfect, polygamous or rarely dioecious. 

 Calyx of 4-5 united .sepals forming a toothed tube. Corolla often showy, of 4-5 

 petals with narrow claws and blades at whose junction thei'e usually exists a 

 scale. Androecium of iisually twice as many stamens as there are petals. Fila- 

 ments usually distinct, inserted like the corolla and 1-celled ovary on the 

 columnar prolongation of the recei:)tacle. Gynoecium of a single compound 

 pi-stil. Styles 2-5. Ovules numerous. Fruit a cap.sule opening by 2-5 apical 

 valves. Seeds many or rarely few, with the embryo straight in the endosperm 

 or nearly so. 



Calyx-tube with ,') ribs, nerved or nerveless. 

 Petals unappendaged. 



Calyx-tube terete or nearly so, subtended by bractlets. 1. Dianthus. 



Calyx-tube .>angled, without bractlets. 2. Vaccakia. 



Petals appendaged at the base of the blade 3. Saponaria. 



Calyx-tube with at least twice as many ribs as lobes. 



Styles 3 or rarely A. 4. Silene. 



Styles 5. " 5. Agrostemma. 



1. DIANTHUS L. 



Perennial or rarely annual herbs, with rather stiff stems. Leaves opposite : blades 

 usually narrow. Flowers perfect, solitary or in terminal cymes. Calyx sessile in an invo- 

 lucre of several bractlets : tube elongated, finely and equally striate : lobes 5, relatively 

 short. Petals 5, deeply colored, with long claws : blades toothed or eroded. Stamens 10. 

 Ovary 1-celIed, stalked : styles 2. Capsule opening by 4 or rarely 5 tooth-like valves. 

 Seeds flattened. Embryo straight, eccentric. Pink. 



1. Dianthus Armferia L. Annual, minutely pubescent. Stems erect, simple or 

 usually branched at the base and above, 2-6 dm. tall : leaves linear, or the blades of the 

 basal ones linear-spatulate, 3-8 cm. long, obtuse or acutish, sessile, the cuneate bases 

 sheathing the stem : flowers clustered at the ends of the branches : calyx pilose ; tube 

 cylindric, nearly 1.5 cm. long, delicately striate ; lobes lanceolate, acuminate, about ^ as 

 long as the tube : petals pink, often spotted with white ; l)lades oblong, notched at the apex, 

 crenate, about i as long as the claws : capsules cylindric, al)out as long as the calyx, short- 

 stalked : seeds 1.5 mm. long, abruptly pointed. " 



In fields and on roadsides, Maine to Ontario and Iowa, south to Georgia. Naturalized from 

 Europe. Summer. 



