836 DECANDRIA— PENTAGYNIA. Spergula. 



ing. Calyx-leaves ovate, acute, hairy, slightly bordered. Pet. 

 about the same length, white, in 2 deep, narrow, bluntish, 

 spreading lobes. S^am. always 10 ; and styles 5. Caps, ovate, 

 about the length of the calyx, or longer, opening with 5 teeth, 

 each of which I have lately found to be cloven, though not so 

 expressed in Curtis, or in Engl. Bot. 

 The general appearance of this plant much resembles Stellaria 

 nemorum, p. 300, and it is remarkable that Linnaeus once con- 

 founded them, including 5. media; which only shows that at 

 the moment he paid little attention to the subject, for surely they 

 are all equally distinct and well marked. 



244. SPERGULA. Spurrey. 



Linn. Gen. 232. Juss. 301. Fl. Br. 502. Dill. Gen. 131. t.7. 

 Lam. t. 392. Gcertn. t. \30. 



Nat. Ord. see w. 24' 1. 



Cat. inferior, of 5 ovate, obtuse, spreading, permanent 

 leaves, more or less membranous at the edges. Pet. 5, 

 ovate, with very short claws, concave, spreading, larger 

 than the calyx, undivided. Filam, 10, sometimes but 5, 

 awl-shaped, shorter than the corolla. Anth. roundish, 

 2-lobed. Germ, superior, ovate. Styles .% short, slender, 

 .spreading. Stigmas downy. Caps, ovate, membranous, 

 of 1 cell and 5 connected valves, covered with the per- 

 manent calyx. Seeds roundish or kidney-shaped, com- 

 pressed, rough or smooth, sometimes with a membranous 

 border. 



Herbaceous, with slender linear leaves, and white powers. 

 Distinguished from Cerastiuin, as Linnaeus remarks, by 

 having undivided petals. But the 5 valves, or deeply 

 separated teeth, of the capsule are full as important, and 

 the natural habit of the whole genus is more allied to 

 Arenaria, from which Spergula differs solely in having 5 

 styles, and a corresponding number of valves to the fruit. 



1. S. arvensis. Corn Spurrey. 



Leaves whorled. Stalks when in fruit reflexed. 



S. arvensis. Linn. Sp. PL 630. fVilld. v. 2. 818. Fl. Br. 502. 



Engl. Bot. V. 22. t. 1535. Curt. Lond. fasc. 5. t.S). Hook. 



Scot. 144. Fl. Dan. t.] 033. Ehrh. Herb. 66. Gunn. Norveg. 



p. 1. 16. Hqffm. Germ, for 1800.213. 

 Spergula. Dod. Pempt. 537. /. Frument. 139. /. Dalech. Hist. 



1331./. Bauh. Hist. V. 3.719,2./. 

 Alsine n. 873. Hall. Hist. v. 1. 385. 



