290 DECANDRIA— TRIGYNIA. Silene. 

 DECANDRIA TRIGYNIA. 



CUCUBALUS baccifcr, which has hitherto found a place 

 in every British Flora, and which, in FL Brit. ^G^, stands 

 as the only representative of its genus, must here be 

 omitted. Dillenius, in his edition of Ray's Si)nopsis, 267, 

 speaks of this plant as having been " gathered in hedges 

 in Anglesea, {Mo?ia,) by Mr. Foulkes of Llanbeder, and 

 sent by him to Dr. Richardson." Now it appears, by a 

 subsequent letter from the same gentleman, preserved in 

 the archives of the Richardson family, and published in 

 the Correspondence of Linnceus and other naturalists^ 

 London 1821, u. 2. 171, that he, Mr. Foulkes, only re- 

 ceived an account of the Cuciibalus " from one who pre- 

 tended to know plants very well," but that he could never 

 find it, nor has this account ever been confirmed. The 

 figure in Fngl. Bot. v. 22. t. 1577 was necessarily drawn 

 from a garden specimen. 



•234. SILENE. Catchfly, or Campion. 



Linn.Gen.226. Juss.302. Fl. Br. 465. Lam. f. 377. G,^rtn.t.l30. 

 Cucubalus. Linn. Gen. 225 ; (except C. baccifer, which is Tourn. 



t. 1 76.) Juss. 302. Lam. t. 377. f. 2. 

 Viscago. Dill. Elth. 416. t. 309— 317. 



Nat. Ord. see 7i. 232. 



Cal. inferior, of 1 leaf, tubular, angular or furrowed, with 5 

 marginal teeth, or oblong segments, permanent. Pet. 5 ; 

 claws narrow, as long as the calyx, bordered, dilated up- 

 ward, attached to the j-ecejjtacle, which is cylindrical, 

 sometimes much elongated and columnar; limb flat, in- 

 volute in the bud, obtuse, either undivided or cloven, 

 either naked at the base, or furnished with 2, simple or 

 divided, distinct or combined, upright scales, which form 

 a crown at the mouth of the flower. Filam. awl-shaped, 

 5 alternate ones attached to the petals, and rather later 

 than the rest. A7ith. oblong, or roundish. Germ, cylin- 

 drical. Styles short, erect. Stigmas oblong, oblique, 

 downy along the upper or inner side. Caps, covered by 

 the calyx, ovate-oblong, often stalked, imperfectly 3-celled, 

 opening by 6 teeth, more or less deeply separated, at the 

 summit. Seeds numerous, kidney-shaped, stalked, rough- 

 ish, attached to the central column. 



Herbaceous, occasionally somewhat shrubby, often annual. 



