CARYOPHYLLACEyE— PINK FAMILY 



COMMON CHICKWEED ''^ 



Stelldria media. Alsine media 



m 



Stelldria, from stella, a star, in allusion to the star-shaped 

 flowers. Alsine, Greek for grove, the habitat of some 

 species. 



Annual. Naturalized from Europe. Everywhere in 

 damp ground. April-December. 



Stem. — Weak, branching, procumbent or ascending. 



Leaves. — Ovate or oval, small, opposite on the stem, 

 sessile or petioled, acute, rarely obtuse. 



Flowers. — Small, white, solitary or slightly clustered. 



Calyx. — Sepals five, oblong, longer than the petals. 



Corolla. — Petals five, two-cleft, shorter than the sepals. 



Stamens. — Two to ten, inserted around the pistil. 



Pistil. — Ovary one-celled; styles three. 



Fruit. — Ovoid capsule, several-seeded. 



March 21, 1853. 



The Stellaria media is fairly in bloom in Mr. C.'s garden. 

 This, then, is our earliest flower, though it has been introduced. 

 It may blossom under favorable circumstances in warmer weather 

 than usual any time in the winter. It has been so much opened 

 that you could easily count its petals any month the past winter 

 and plainly blossoms with the first pleasant weather that brings 

 the robins. — Thoreau. 



The Chickweed is our one plant hardy enough to 

 live and bloom throughout a northern winter. It 



56 



