280 ALSIXACEAE 



perigjTious. Ovarj' 1-celled, many-ovnled; stigmas sessile. Capsule 3-valved. 

 Cotyledons acciimbent. 



1. L. texana Hook. Annual, branched at the base, 5-15 cm. high; leaves 

 4-6 mm. long; flowers on secund recurved branches; sepals straight or slightlj' 

 curved; capsule shorter than the calyx; seeds obovate. Dry hills: Te.x. — Neb. 

 Plain. Ap-Je. 



Family 4.5. CARYOPHYLLACEAE. Pixk Family. 



Herbs \\-ith narrow opposite leaves, without stipules, often connate at the 

 base. Flowers perfect, polygamous, or dioecious, cyinose. Calyx of 5 or 

 4 united sepals. Petals 5 or 4, distinct, with a narrow claw, often vith 

 scale-like appendages (the crown) at the junction of the claw with the blade. 

 Stamens usually twice as many as the sepals. Gynoecium of 2-5 united 

 carpels; styles 2-5. Fruit a 1-celled or partially 2-5-celled capsule, opening 

 b}^ 2-5 valves at the apex. 



Calyx with at least tw-ice as many ribs (usually 10) as caly.x-teeth, rimning both into the 

 teeth and the sinuses. 



Styles .5, alternate with the foliaceous calyx-lobes. 1. Agrostemma. 



Styles either 5 and opposite the short calyx-lobes or fewer than 5. 



Styles mostly 3; capsule usually septate at the base. 2. Silene. 



Styles 5; capsule 1-celled to the base. 3. Wahlbergella. 



Calyx 5-angled or o-ribbed. 



Petals with a crown; calyx not strongly angled. 4. Saponaria. 



Petals without a crown ; calyx strongly 5-angled. 5. Vaccaria. 



1. AGROSTEMMA L. Corn Cockle, Corn Campion. 



Annual pubescent herbs, with opposite leaves. Flowers solitary at the end 

 of the branches. Calyx oblong, not inflated, 10-ribbed, 5-lobed; lobes linear, 

 elongate and foHaceous. Petals 5, clawed, without appendages or crown; 

 blade obovate or cuneate, emarginate. Stamens 10. Stjdes 5, opposite the 

 petals. Capsule 1-celled. Seeds numerous. 



1. Agrostemma Githago L. Stem erect, 3-10 dm. high, densely pubescent; 

 leaves hnear-lanceolate, erect, 5-10 cm. long; calyx-lobes 2-3 cm. long; petals 

 red; blade 1.5-2 cm. long. Waste places and grain fields: Newf. — Fla.— Calif. 

 —B.C.; nat. from Eu. Jl-S. 



2. SILENE L. Catchfly, Campion. 



Annual or perennial herbs. Leaves opposite, flat, entire. Flowers perfect, 

 in terminal cymes, or rarely solitary. Cah'x with a more or less inflated tube, 

 10-many-nerved, with short, erect, or spreading lobes. Petals 5, red, pink, or 

 white, with a crown, and usually cleft or divided. Stamens 10. Ovary 1-celled, 

 but usually with i^artial partitions at the base. Styles 3, seldom more. Cap- 

 sule opening by twice as many tooth-like valves as there are styles. Ovary 

 with a more or less developed stipe. Seeds tuberculate or echinate. 



Annuals. 



Glabrous or nearly so, or the upper nodes glutinous. I. S. antirrhina. 



Viscid-pubescent or liirsute tlu-oughout. 2. S. noctiflora. 



Perennials. 



Calyx mostly 10-nerved, rarely strongly inflated in fruit, not constricted at the 

 mouth. 

 Caulescent herbs, rather tall, not densely matted, with rootstocks. 



Inflorescence paniculate or thyrsoid at the end of the stem, not leafy; flowers 

 more than I cm. long. 

 Blade of the petals 2-parted and cleft into 4-6 linear segments. 



3. S. oregana. 

 Blades of the petals bifld; each lobe sometimes with a lateral tooth. 



Blade small, scarcclj exceeding the small appendages; plant vi.scid- 

 tomentose. 4. S. Spaldiv(iii. 



Blades conspicuous, much longer than the appendages; plant viscid- 

 puberulent or glabrous. 

 Stipe of the capsule over 5 mm. long; fruiting calyx distinctly con- 

 tracted below. 5. .S. rcpens. 

 Stipe of the capsule short, less than 5 mm. long; calyx slightly if 

 at all contracted below. 



