Spergula. XXII. ILLECEBRACEiE. 185 



nearly sessile ; fil. united above the middle ; capsules oblong, much longer than 

 the sepals, — Swamps, N. J, to Ky. Stem about 21' high. Leaves 1 — 3' long, 

 rounded-obtuse. Flowers smaller than in the last, of a dull orange-color. 

 Aug. Sept, 



Order XXII, ILLECEBRACE^.— Knotworts, 



Plants herbaceous or sufiVuticose, branching. 



Lvs. sessile, entire. Siipii/es and brads scurious. FIs. minute, 



Cal.—tiemh 5, distinct or coheiuiit ut base, persistent. 



Cor. — Petals miniiie, inserted between the sepals, often wanting, 



Sta. equal in number to the sepals (sometime.s les.s or more) in.serted into the perigynous disk. 



Ova. superior, 1-celled. St;/. 2—5, either partially or wholly combined. 



Pr. a utricle, sd. sohtary, attached to base of cell ; or a many-seeded capsule. 



Genera 24, species lOO, found mostly around the Mediterranean. Seven of the genera have been found 

 in JV. America. A slight astringency is their only known property. 



Conspectus of tlie Genera. 



1 f or sterile filaments none Anychia. 1 



< minute, resembling sterile filaments. Paronychia. 'Z 



Petals ( conspicuous, white or rose-colored Spergula. 3 



1. ANYCHIA. Michx, 

 Gt. ovv^, the fingernail ; a supposed remedy for the maladies of that organ. 



Calyx of 5, ovate-oblong, connivent sepals, callous, subsaccate at the 

 apex ; corolla ; filaments 2 — 5, distinct ; stigma subcapitate ; utri- 

 cle enclosed in the sepals. — ® Small herbs, ivith dichotomous branches. 

 Lvs. stipulate. 



A. DicHOTOMA. Michx, (Glueria Canadensis, Linn.) Forked Chlckioeed. 



St. at length much branched, erect ; lvs. lanceolate, cauline ones oppo- 

 site, ramial ones alternate ; fis. about as long as the stipules, terminal ones 

 subfasciculate. — Dry woods and hills. Can. and N. Eng. to Ark. Stem 4 — 10' 

 high, round, slender, pubescent above, with dichotomous, filiform branches. 

 Leaves 2 — 8" by h — 2", acute or obtuse, with ovate-acuminate, scarious stipules 

 at base situated at each fork of the stem. Flowers axillary, solitary, or in ter- 

 minal clusters of 3 or more, very small, white. Jn. — Aug, 



/?. capillacea. Torr. — Smooth; branches capillary; lvs. oblong, obtuse, cunei- 

 form at base. la. ! Ill, ! 



2. PARONYCHIA, Tom:n, 



Etymology similar to the foregoing. 



Sepals united at base, acuminate-cuspidate at apex, the lining 

 membrane colored and cucuUate or saccate at summit ; petals (sterile 

 fil.?) very narrow and scale-like; stamens 5; styles more or less 

 united ; stigmas 2 ; utricle 1 -seeded included in the calyx. 



1. P. Jame-sii. Torr. & Gray, 



Caespitose, much branched; lvs. linear-subulate, .scabrous;/*:, few, in 

 .small, dense, dichotomous cymes, the central ones sessile ; pet. (or setce) alter- 

 nate with the fertile filaments ; scp. linear, with a minute cu.sp. — Prairies, 

 Mason Co., Ill, Mead. R. Mts. James. Nutt. Stems about if long. Flowers 

 small. 



2, P. DICHOTOMA. Nutt. (Achyrauthes, Linn.) 



Cfe.spitose, densely branching ; I'vs. acerose-mucronate, glabrous, 2-grooved 

 each side ; cyyjics compound, diffuse, without central fls. ; setce much shorter 

 than the stamens. — Rocks, Harper's Ferry. Stems 6 — 12' high.' Leaves 1' by 

 V, crowded. Style bifid i its length, Jl. — Nov. 



3, SPERGULA, 



Lat. spei-g'o, to scatter; from the dispersion of the seeds. 



Sepals 5, nearly distinct; petals 5, entire ; stamens 5 — 10 ; styles 

 3 — 5 ; capsules superior, ovate, 3 — 5-valved, many-seeded. — ® Herbs 

 icithjlowers m loose cymes. Lvs. stipulate. 



