174 n^LECEBRACE^. Spergula. 



very short. Capsule 3-valved.— Low annuals. Leaves opposite or quater- 

 nate. Flowers cymose. 



1. P. tetraphyllum (Linn.): leaves quaternate and opposite, spatulate- 

 obovate ; sepals mucronate ; stamens 3.—Eng. hot. t. 1031 ; Ell. sk. 1. p. 

 182. Mollugo tetraphylla, Linn. sp. 1. p. 89. 



About Charleston, S. Carolina ! Introduced !— Much branched, 3-6 inches 

 high. Petals white. 



2. P. depressum (Nutt.l mss.) : "very small, depressed, much branched; 

 leaves opposite, spatulate, the petiole as long as the limb ; flowers in small 

 clustered cymes ; sepals not mucronate ; petals almost filiform ; stamens 3-5. 



" On bare sand-hills, near St. Diego, California.— Root slender, perpendi- 

 cular. Stems much branched from the base, forming a small tuft, not rising 

 from the ground. Leaves 2-3 Unes long. Flowers very small." Nutt. 



6. LCEFLINGIA. Linn. act. Holm. ; Lam. ill. t. 19. 



Sepals lanceolate, subulate, cuspidate, united at the base ; the three exterior 

 with a setiform appendage on each side near the base (adnate stipules). Pe- 

 tals minute, connivent. Stamens 3-5. Styles 3, distinct or united below, 

 sometimes almost none. Capsule 3-valved, many-seeded.— Depressed an- 

 nuals. Leaves subulate, the minute setaceous stipules adnate to the mar- 

 gins at the base. Flowers sessile in the axils of the branches and leaves. 



1. L. squarrosa (Nutt. ! mss.) : " glandular-pubescent, much branched ; 

 leaves subulate-setaceous and (with the sepals) squarrose ; stamens 3-5 j 

 stigmas sessile ; capsule triangular, at length exserted." 



" Sandy plains, St. Diego, California. — Flowers secund and somewhat 

 fascicled. Seeds even : embryo almost straight." Nutt. 



1. SPERGULA. Bartl. ord. nat. p. 302. 



Spergula, Linn, (excluding the exstipulate species) with the stipulate species of 

 Arenaria, Linn. — Spergularia, A. St. Hil. 



Sepals nearly distinct. Petals 5, entire, mostly somewhat perigynous. 

 Stamens 5-10, inserted with the petals. Styles 3-5. Capsule 3-5-valved, 

 many-seeded. Seeds compressed, orbicular or reniform, often surrounded 

 with a membranaceous margin.— Leaves mostly fascicled in the axils. 

 Flowers loosely cymose. 



§ 1. Styles 5. 



-/— 1. <S. arvensis (Linn.) : leaves verticillate and mostly fascicled, subulate- 

 linear ;' stipules minute ; peduncles reflexed in fruit ; stamens 10 ; seeds 

 thick, with a very narrow margm.— GcErtn.fr. t. 130 ; Pursh, fl. 1. p. 320 ; 

 Ell sk. 1. p. 523 ; Hook. fl. Bor.-Am. 1. p. 92. Spergularia arvensis, A. St. 

 Hil. fl. Bras. 2. p. 17S. ' • . . »i u u- u 



Canada! to Georgia, in waste places: mtroduced. Also on the high 

 grounds of the Red and Assiniboin rivers, according to Hooker (who mentions, 

 besides, a much larger and more branching variety, S. ramosissima, Dougl. 

 mss., from Oregon). May-Aug.— Q About a foot high, ascending. Cyme 

 few-flowered. Petals white, rather longer than the calyx.— Corn- Spurrey. 



