Sagina. CARYOPHYLLACE^. 177 



Sitcha {Bongard) and both sides of Behring's Straits! {Clinmisso) to 

 De Fuca (Scolder !) — This plant, at once distinguishable from the preced- 

 ing- by its longer and narrower leaves, apparently less Heshy habit, and espe- 

 cially by the forna of the sepals and petals, appears to take the place along 

 the shores of the Northern Pacific, which H. peploides occupies along the 

 Atlantic ocean. The plant of our own coast agrees well with the European, 

 except that the stems are almost always simple. 



4. SAGINA. Bartl. ord. nat. p. 305. 



Sagina, Linn, and the exstipulate species of Spergula, Linn. tf-c. 



Sepals 4-5, united at the base. Petals 4-5, entire, or none. Stamens 

 4-10. Styles 4-5. Capsule 4-5-valved, many-seeded. — FloAvers solitary, 

 axillary or terminal. Leaves often fascicled in the axils. 



':^~ 1. S. procumhens (Linn.) : glabrous ; stems procumbent ; leaves linear, 

 mucronaie ; peduncles acending in fruit ; petals about half the length of the 

 sepals; stamens, petals, and sepals 4-5. — Gcvrtn.fr. t. 129; E^ig. hot. t. 880; 

 Ell. sk. 1. p. 221 ; Hook. ! fl. Bor.-Am. 1. p. 92. 



Springy ground, Connecticut! to South Carolina. Oregon, Dr. Scouler! 

 May-Aug.— (1) or (2) ( If DC. Hook.) Stems 2-6 inches long. Capsule 

 twice the length of the calyx. Petals sometimes none. 



"~/^. S. decumbens : mostly glabrous; stems decumbent, ascending; leaves 

 linear-subulate, very acute ; peduncles much longer than the leaves ; petals 

 and sepals 5, of equal length; stamens 10. — S. procumbens, Withering. 

 Spergula saginoides, Li)m. ; Mich.v. ! Jl. I. p. 276; DC. frodr. 1. p. 394; 

 Hook. I. c. S. decumbens. Ell. sk. 1. p. 523. S. nodosa, Walt. Car. p. 241. 

 Infields, &c. Canada! to Louisiana! Introduced? Also on the Pacific 

 coast, Chamisso, Hooker. April-July. — (T) Stems branching, 1-3 inches 

 long. Petals obtuse. Capsule a little longer than the calyx. 



3. S.fontinalis (ShoTt & Peter) : glabrous; stems procumbent, branched, 

 dichotomous above ; leaves linear-spatulate, rather obtuse ; petals none ; 

 stamens 4-6. — Short <^ Peter ! \st suppl. cat. Kentucky plants. 



Wet rocks, Kentucky ! April-May.— (2) Stems 8-15 inches long. Pe- 

 duncles longer than the leaves. Sepals 4-5, ovate, rather obtuse. Capsulfe 

 subglobose, much shorter than the sepals. 



4. (S. apetala (Linn.): pubescent; stem erect; leaves subulate; pedun- 

 cles elongated and ascending in fruit ; sepals and stamens 4 ; petals 4, very- 

 minute or none.— jEno-. bot. t. 881; DC. prodr. 1. p. 389; 7'orr. ! fl. 1. p. 

 195. 



Dry sandy fields. New- Jersey ! Pennsylvania, & Maryland. Introduced ? 

 May-June.— (I) Stems filiform, 2-3 inches high. Sepals lanceclate, acate, 

 shorter than the capsule. 



5. S. erecta (Linn.): glabrous; stem about 1-flowered ; leaves linear, 

 acute; peduncles strict; sepals, petals, and stamens 4. — Eng. bot. t. 609; 

 DC. I. c. Moenchia glauca, Pers. syn. 1. p. 153. 



Baltimore ? Introduced. — (l) Stem 2 inches high. Sepals lanceolate- 

 ovate, acute, as loag as the capsule. 



/•^ 6. S. nodosa : erect ; leaves subulate, glabrous, connate, the lower sheath- 

 ing; upper ones proliferous in their axils; petals twice the length of the 

 calyx; stamens 10. — Spergula nodosa, Linn, j Eng. bot. i. 964; Hook. Ji. 

 Bor.-Am. 1. p. 93. 



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