142 CARYOPHYLLACEAE 



11. Stellaria littoralis Torr. Beach Starwort. Fig. 1668. 



Stellaria littoralis Torr. Pacif. R. Rep. 4: 69. 1857. 

 Alsine littoralis Greene, Man. Bay Reg. 34. 1894. 



Perennial, villous-pubescent throughout, the stems decumbent, 2-4 dm. long, dichotomously 

 branched. Leaves ovate-lanceolate, 15-40 mm. long, acute or short-acuminate; flowers mostly 

 terminal in leafy-bracted diffuse cymes ; sepals 5-6 mm. long, lanceolate, with broad scarious 

 margins ; petals about equaling the sepals, cleft nearly to the base ; capsule oblong-ovoid, exceed- 

 ing the sepals ; seeds light brown, very faintly reticulate. 



Bogs and marshes along the coast, Humid Transition Zone; Humboldt County to San Francisco, California. 

 Type locality: Point Reyes, California. May-July. 



12. Stellaria Jamesiana Torr. Sticky Starwort. Fig. 1669. 



Stellaria Jamesiana Torr. Ann. Lye. N.Y. 2: 169. 1828. 



Stellaria Jamesii of authors. 



Alsine Jamesiana Heller, Cat. N. Amer. PI. ed. 2. 4. 1900. 



Perennial, glandular-pubescent throughout or glabrate below, the stems more or less diffusely 

 branching, erect or ascending, 10-35 cm. long. Leaves lanceolate to linear-lanceolate, 5-10 cm. 

 long; flowers in loose leafy-bracted terminal and axillary cymes; sepals oblong-lanceolate, 4-6 

 mm! long, broadly scarious-margined; petals well exceeding the sepals, rather deeply lobed; cap- 

 sule broadly ovoid, shorter than the calyx. 



Mountain meadows, Arid Transition Zone; Mount Stuart and the Wenatchee Mountains, Washington to 

 the southern Sierra Nevada, California, east to Colorado and New Mexico. Type locality: Rocky Mountains. 

 May-July. 



2. CERASTIUM L. Sp. PI. 437. 1753. 



Annual or perennial, pubescent or hirsute herbs, with terminal dichotomous cymes of 

 white flowers. Sepals 5 or rarely 4. Petals of the same number as the sepals, or rarely 

 wanting, emarginate or bifid. Stamens 10 or rarely fewer. Styles equal in number to the 

 sepals and opposite them, or fewer. Capsule cylindrical, often curved, dehiscent by twice 

 as many valves as styles. Seeds many, rough. [Name Greek, meaning horny, in reference 

 to the horn-like capsules of many species.] 



About 50 species, of world-wide distribution but most abundant in the temperate zones. Type species, 

 Cerastium arvense L. 



Petals equaling or shorter than the sepals. 



Flowers glomerate; pedicels not longer than the calyx. 1. C. viscosum. 



Flowers cymose; pedicels at length longer than the calyx. 2. C. vulgatum. 



Petals decidedly longer than the sepals. 



Perennial; sepals 3-8 mm. long. 3. C. arvense. 



Annual, viscid-pubescent; sepals 3-4 mm. long. 



Pedicels not over twice the length of the calyx. 4. C. brachypodum. 



Pedicels much longer than the calyx. 5. C. nutans. 



1. Cerastium viscosum L. Mouse-ear Chickweed. Fig. 1670. 



Cerastium viscosum, L. Sp. PI. 437. 1753. 



Cerastium acutatum Suksdorf, Werdenda 1 : 9. 1923. 



Annual, the stems simple or tufted, decumbent or ascending, 1-3 dm. long, densely viscid- 

 pubescent. Leaves elliptic-ovate to obovate, the lower often spatulate, 1-2 cm. long ; bracts small, 

 herbaceous; flowers in glomerate cymes; pedicels mostly shorter than the calyx; sepals 3.5-4.5 

 mm. long, acute ; petals shorter than the sepals, 2-cleft. 



Common especially in fields and waste places; naturalized from Europe and widespread over the Pacific 

 States and across the continent. March-June. 



Cerastium viscosum var. apetalum (Dumort) Fenzl. Like the typical species except the petals are wanting. 

 Naturalized at San Diego, California. 



2. Cerastium vulgatum L. Larger Mouse-ear Chickweed. Fig. 1671. 



Cerastium vulgatum L. Sp. PI. ed. 2. 627. 1762. 

 Cerastium triviale Link, Enum. Hort. Ber. 1: 433. 1821. 



Biennial or perennial, viscid-pubescent throughout, the stems simple or usually tufted, decum- 

 bent or ascending, 1-4 dm. long. Upper leaves oblong, the lower oblong-spatulate, 10-25 mm. 

 long, acute or obtuse ; bracts small, scarious-margined ; flowers in loose cymes ; pedicels becoming 

 much longer than the calyx ; sepals 4-6 mm. long ; petals about equaling the sepals, 2-cleft ; cap- 

 sule about twice the length of the calyx, often curved upward. 



A common lawn and pasture weed, naturalized from Europe and widely spread over the Pacific States and 

 across the continent. March-July. 



3. Cerastium arvense L. Field or Meadow Chickweed. Fig. 1672. 



Cerastium arvense L. Sp. PI. 438. 1753. 



Cerastium arvense var. maximum Hollick & Britt. Bull. Torrey Club 14: 47. 1887. 



Cerastium patulum Greene, Pittonia 4: 302. 1901. 



Cerastium Sonnei Greene, Pittonia 4: 303. 1901. 



Perennial, the stems tufted, erect or ascending, pubescent or nearly glabrous, the flowering 



