186 



XXIII. CARYOPHYLLACE^. 



1. S. ARVENSis, Corn Spurry. 



Lis. verticillate, linear-subulate ; sta. 10 ; stnj. 5; ped. reflexed in fruit ; 

 5^5. reniform, angular, rough. — A common weed in cultivated grounds, Can. to 

 Ga. Root small. Stem round, branched, with swelling joints, beset with 

 copious Avhorled leaves, somewhat downy and viscid. Two minute stipules 

 under each whorl. Cyme forked, the terminal (central) peduncles bending 

 down as the truit ripens. Petals white, longer than the calyx, capsule twice 

 as long. Seeds many, with a membranous margin. May — Aug. ^ 



2. S. RUBRA. T. & G. (Arenaria rubra. Linn.) 



St. decumbent, much branched ; Ivs. linear, slightly mucronate ; stipules 

 ovate, membranous, cleft ; sep. lanceolate, with scarious margins ; pet. red or 

 rose-color ; sty. 3 ; .s^5. compressed, angular, roughish. — A common and varia- 

 ble species, found in sandy fields ! Can. to Flor. &c. Stems a few inches in 

 length, slender, smooih, spreading on the ground, with small, narrow leaves 

 and dry, sheathing stipules. Flowers small, on hairy stalks. May — Oct. 



Order XXIII. CARYOPHYLLACE^.— Cloveworts. 



Herbs, with the steins swelling at the nodes. 



Lvs. opposite, entire, destitute of stipules. Fls. regular. 



Ca/.— Sepals 4—5, distinct, or cohering in a tube, persistent. 



Cor.— Petals 4—5, (sometimes none) either unguicidate and inserted upon the pedicel of the ovary, or 



without claws and inserted on the outside of a fleshy disk. 

 Sta. twice as many as the petals, rarely equal or few ; anthers introrse. 

 Ova. often stipitate. Styles stigmatose the whole length of their inner surface. 

 Fr. a 1-celled capsule or imperfectly 2— 5-celled, opening at the apex by twice £is many teeth as there are 



stigmas. Seeds numerous. 

 Genera 53, species 1055. Elevenof the genera are North American, the remainder are found in the 

 teinperate and frigid climates of the Eastern Continent. Properties unimportant. The order is noticeable 

 chiefly for the beauty of a few of the cultivated species. 



FIG. 41.— 1. Lychnis diuma. 2. Vertical section, exposing the 5 styles, the placenta and seeds of the 

 1-celled capsule. 3. A petal, with its long claw, its bifid lamina, and its 2-tootbed crown. 4. Gross sec- 

 tion of the flower, showing the arrangement of its parts. 5. Arenaria stricta, showing the spreading 

 cyme. 6. A flower enlarged — calyx not tubular. 



Conspectus of the Genera. 



Calyx 



< Sepals partly united Adenarium. 



5 entire. I Sepals entirely distinct Arenaria. 



$ Petals 5, I bifid Stellaria. 



( Styles 3. I Petals Mollugo. 



not < Styles 4. Petals 4—5 or 0, entire Sagina. 



tubular. ( Styles 5. Petals 5, bifid Cerastium. 



< Calyx calyculate with 2—4 scales at base Dianthus. 



( Styles 2. I Calyx without scales at the base. Saponaria. 



< Styles 3 Silene. 



tubular. ( Styles 5 Lychnis. 



