48 CARYOPHYLLEyE. [ Cerastmm. 



Ball. Fl. May, June. % .—Stem three to four inches high, slightly 

 hairy, as are the calyces and peduncles. Lower leaves crowded, often 

 curved, upper ones distinct. 



10. Cekastium. Linn. Mouse-ear Chickweed. 



Calyx of 5 sepals. Petals 5, cloven. Capsules bursting at the 

 top with 10 teeth (5 in C. aquaticum.) — Name, icepas, a horn, 

 from the rather long and curved capsules of some species. 



£>ecandria. Pentagunia. 



* Petals not longer than the Calyx. 



1. C. vulgatum, Linn. Broad-leaved Mouse-ear Chickweed. 

 Hairy, nearly erect, viscid above ; leaves ovate ; bracteas her- 

 baceous; petals as long as the calyx; flowers subcapitate; 

 calyces oblong, longer than the pedicels. Br. Fl. \. p. 2\3. 

 E. Fl. v. \\.p. 330. E. Bot. t. 789. — C. visocum, Huds.—With. 

 — Curt. Lond. ed. I. with a Jig. 



Fields, pastures, and road-sides, common. Fl. April — June. 0. — 

 Six to ten inches high, branched below, dichotomous above. Petals 

 narrow, bifid at the extremity. Capsules cylindrical, as long again as 

 the calyx, curved upward. 



2. C. viscosum, Linn. Narrow-leaved Mouse-ear Chickweed. 

 Hairy, viscid, spreading; leaves oblong, lanceolate; bracteas 

 membranaceous- at the margin ; flowers somewhat panicled ; 

 calyces oblong, shorter than the pedicels. Br. Fl.l.p. 213. 

 E. Fl. v. ii. p. 230. E. Bot. t. 790.— C. vulgatum, Huds.— 

 With. 



Pastures, waste places, and wall tops. Fl. the whole summer. 0. — 

 Much resembling the last, but a larger, coarser, and spreading plant, 

 with longer and narrower leaves. Calyces shorter than the footstaUis 

 in general, especially when in fruit. 



3. C semidecandrum, Linn. Little Mouse-ear Chickweed. 

 Hairy, viscid, suberect ; leaves oblongo-ovate; bracteas membra- 

 naceous at the margin; flowers somewhat panicled; calyces 

 ovate shorter than the pedicel ; segments with broad membra- 

 naceous margins; petals slightly cloven ; stamens 5. Br. Fl. 1. 

 p. 213. E. Fl. v. ii. p. 331. E. Bot. t. 1630.— C. pumilum, 

 Curt. 



Dry waste places in sandy soil, and on wall tops, frequent. Fl. 

 March, April. ©. — This, as Sir James E. Smith well observes, displays 

 itself, in early spring, on every wall, and withers away before the C. 

 viscosum begins to put forth its far less conspicuous blossoms. Calyx- 

 segments acute. Mr. W. Wilson thinks this may be but an early 

 flowering state of C. viscosum. 



4. C. tetrandrum, Curt. Four-cleft Mouse-ear Chickweed. 

 Hairy and somewhat viscid; flowers 4-cleft with four stamens: 



