Genus i. 



CHICKWEED FAMILY. 



43 



3. Alsine uliginosa (Murr.) Britton. Bog 

 Starwort. Alarsh Chickweed. Fig. 1751. 



Stellaria uliginosa Murr. Prodr. Goett. 55. 1770. 

 Alsine uliginosa Britton. Mem. Torr. Club 5; 150. 1S94. 



Weak, decumbent or ascending, slender, generally 

 growing in dense masses, stems nearly simple, 6'-i6' 

 long. Leaves oblong to oblong-lanceolate, $"-12" long, 

 2"-$" wide, narrowed at the base, the lower slightly 

 petioled and sometimes ciliate, the upper sessile ; flow- 

 ers 3" broad, in lateral sessile cymes, rarely terminal; 

 pedicels slender; sepals i"-ij" long, lanceolate, acute; 

 petals 2-parted, about the length of the calyx and the 

 ovoid pod ; seeds rough. 



In cold brooks and springs, Maryland, eastern Pennsyl- 

 vania and western New Jersey, nortl; to Newfoundland, 

 and in Michigan. Also in British Columbia and the North- 

 west Territory, Europe and Asia. Bog-, swamp- or marsh 

 stitchwort. Summer. 



4. Alsine media L. Common Chickweed. 

 Satin-flower. Tongue-grass. Fig. 1752. 



Alsine media L. Sp. PI. 272. 1753. 



Sicllaria media Vill. Hist. PI. Dauph. 3: 615. 1789. 



Annual, weak, tufted, much branched, decum- 

 bent or ascending, 4'-i6' long, glabrous except 

 a line of hairs along the stem and branches, the 

 pubescent sepals and the sometimes ciliate peti- 

 oles. Leaves ovate or oval, 2"-\ long, acute or 

 rarely obtuse, the lower petioled and often 

 cordate, the upper sessile; flowers 2"-^' broad, 

 in terminal leafy cymes or also solitary in the 

 axils; pedicels slender; sepals oblong, mostly 

 acute, longer than the 2-parted petals ; stamens 

 2-10; capsule ovoid, longer than the calyx; seeds 

 rough, sometimes crested. 



In waste places, meadows and woods, nearly 

 throughout North America. Naturalized from Eu- 

 rope, though possibly native northward. Native also 

 of Asia and now almost universally distributed as a 

 weed. White bird's-eye. Chicken- or winter-weed. 

 Jan.-Dec. 



5. Alsine piabera (Alichx.) Britton. Great 

 or Star Chickweed. Fig. 1753. 



Stellaria pubera Michx. Fl. Bor. .^m. i : 



-3. 1S03. 



Alsine puhera Britton, Mem. Torr. Club 5: 150. 1894. 



Perennial, erect or decumbent. 4'-! 2' high, branch- 

 ing, the stems and branches with two finely hairy 

 lines. Leaves oblong or ovate-oblong, -2V long, 

 acute or obtuse, their margins more or less ciliate, 

 the upper generally sessile, the lower sometimes 

 narrowed at the base or on broad petioles, those of 

 sterile shoots sometimes all petioled ; flowers 4"-6" 

 broad, in terminal leafy cymes; pedicels rather 

 stout, more or less pubescent: sepals ovate to lan- 

 ceolate, blunt or acutish, often scarious-margined, 

 shorter than the 2-cleft or 2-parted petals ; capsule 

 subglobose or ovoid, its teeth revolute after split- 

 ting; seeds rough. 



In moist, rocky places. New Jersey and Pennsylvania 

 to Indiana, south to Kentucky, Georgia and Alabama. 

 -Ascends to 4500 ft. in North Carolina. May-June. 



