176 CARYOPHYLLACE.E. Honckentj. 



1. MOLLUGO. Linn. ; DC. ; W. ^- Am. prodr. Ind. or. 1. p. 43. 



Sepals 5, united at the base. Petals usually none, rarely 5, minute. Sta- 

 mens 5 or fewer, opposite the sepals, sometimes 10. Styles 3. Capsule 

 3-valved, 3-ceUed, loculicidal, many-seeded. — Leaves actually opposite, and 

 without stipules ; but by abortion apparently alternate, with 2 stipules (one 

 leaf being abortive its petiole splits up, leaving a portion, like a stipule, at- 

 tached on each side to the base of the petiole of the perfect leaf); containing 

 in their axils several leaves surrounding the base of the young branch, and 

 forming radical or lateral tufts opposite to the peduncles ; hence they are 

 usually said to be verticillate. Am. I. c. 



•y 1. M. verticillata (Linn.): stem branched, depressed; leaves spatulate, 

 the upper ones lanceolate ; pedicels 1-flowered, forming a simple sessile um- 

 bel; seeds smooth. — Michx. ! fl. l.p.77; GcBrtn.fr. t.\30; DC. prodr. 1. 

 p. 391 ; Hook.fl. Bar.- Am. 1. p. 92. 



Barren places throughout N. America ! June-Sept. — (J) Sepals colored 

 within. Petals none. Stamens mostly 3. Seeds smooth, with 3 dorsal 

 striae. 



2. MERKIA. Fisch. in DC; Cham. ^ Schlecht. in Linncea, 1. p. 59. 



Sepals 5. Petals 5, unguiculate, entire. Stamens 5. Styles 3. Capsule 

 sessile, inflated, depressed-globose and umbilicated, grooved, imperfectly 

 3-celled, 3-valved. Seeds numerous, minute, pyriform. — Weak, diffusely 

 CBEspitose. Leaves ovate, a little ciliate. Peduncles solitary, 1-flowered. 



M. physodes (Fisch.) — Hook.jl. Bor.-Am. l.p. 103. Arenaria physodes, 

 DC. prodr. 1. p. 403. 



Bay of Eschscholtz. — Capsule about half an inch in diameter. Cham. ^ 

 Schlecht. 



3. HONCKENYA. Ehrh. beitr. 2. p. 81. (not of Willd.) 



Adenarium, Baf. (1818.) 



Sepals 5, united at the base. Petals 5, perigynous, unguiculate, entire. 

 Stamens 10, inserted, with the petals, into a glanduliferous disk. Styles 3-5. 

 Capsule 3-5-valved, 1-ceIled, 8-10-seeded. Seeds large, smooth.— Fleshy 

 maritime perennial herbs, with axillary subsolitary flowers. 



■^ 1. H. peploides (Ehrh.): sepals ovate, obtuse, with "scarious margins; 

 petals spatulate-obovate ; leaves and stems very fleshy. — Arenaria peploides, 

 Linn. J Willd. sp. 2. p. 717; Fl. Dan. t. 624; Pilrsh, Ji. l.p. 317; DC. 

 prodr. 1. p. 413; Hook.jl. Bor.-Am. 1. p. 102 (in part). Adenarium pep- 

 loides, Eaf. in Desv.jour. phys. (1818) ; DC. I. c. 3. p. 366. 



Atlantic Coast! from lat. 40° to Labrador! and the Arctic Circle. — Stem 

 extensively creeping, with numerous erect mostly simple branches, 8-12 

 inches high. Leaves short, ovate, abruptly acute or mucronate, very fleshy. 

 Styles 3 in the lower, mostly 5 in the upper flowers. Flowers by abortion 

 sometimes dioecious or polygamous. 



2. H. ohlongifolia : sepals lanceolate-ovate, acute ; petals oblong-spatu- 

 late ; leaves oblong, acutCj attenuate at the base, and, as well as the stems, 

 not very fleshy. — Arenaria peploides, Cham. ^- Schlecht. in Linncea, 1. p. 

 57 ; Bongard,'veg. Sitcha. I. c. p. 128. A. peploides 0. major, Hook. .' l. c. 



