PINK FAMILY 91 



Petals exceeding the sepals; stems erect. 



Herbage nearly glabrous S. 5". longipes. 



Herbage glandular 6. S. jamesii. 



1. S. media Cyr. Common Chickweed. Stems weak, often 

 reclining, marked with a pubescent line. Leaves ovate, acute, 

 narrowed to a slender petiole, or the upper narrower and 

 sessile. Flowers on slender pedicels which become deflexed 

 in fruit. Petals shorter than sepals. — A weed, introduced 

 around the settlements. 



2. S. nitens Nutt. Stems very slender, 4 to 12 in. high, 

 from an annual root, shining and nearly glabrous. Leaves 

 mostly linear-lanceolate, acute, % to y 2 in. long, sessile (the 

 very lowest smaller and petioled). Flowers on long ascend- 

 ing pedicels from the axils of minute whitish bracts. Sepals 

 white-edged, tapering to sharp points, the petals much shorter 

 or wanting. — A low-altitude plant, found at Vernal Falls. 



3. S. umbellata Turcz. Stems smooth, weak, ascending 

 from a prostrate base. Leaves lanceolate or elliptic, *4 to Z A 

 in. long. Flowers umbellate, i. e., several from the summit of 

 each branch, the spreading pedicels l / 2 to \y 2 in. long and 

 short-bracted at base. Petals minute or none. (Alsine baical- 

 ensis Cov.). — Soda Springs of the Tuolumne, and perhaps 

 elsewhere at high altitudes. 



4. S. crispa C. & S. Stems numerous, weak, often re- 

 clining, glabrous, 1 to 3 ft. long. Leaves thin, ovate, usually 

 crisped on the edges, acute, J / 2 to 2 in. long. Flowers solitary 

 from the leaf-axils, on pedicels % to 2 in. long. Petals shorter 

 than sepals or none. — In meadows and other grassy places. 



5. S. longipes Goldie. Stems numerous, slender, erect, 6 

 to 15 in. high, from running rootstocks, the whole plant 

 smooth and nearly glabrous. Leaves linear-lanceolate, very 

 acute, y 2 in. to 1 in. long. Flowers solitary or loosely clus- 

 tered, on pedicels of various lengths. Petals white, 2-parted 

 to below the middle, longer than sepals. 



This is perhaps our most common Stellaria. It grows 

 throughout the Yellow Pine Belt in moist or grassy places. 

 When shaded by other plants its stems and leaves are much 

 longer and more slender than in the ordinary form. 



6. S. jamesii Torr. Stems erect, strongly angled, usually 

 6 to 12 in. high, pubescent and viscid above. Leaves lance- 

 olate, slenderly acute, 1 to 2 l / 2 in. long. Flowers on short 

 pedicels (1 in. or less) in leafy panicles. Petals white, 2-cleft 

 above the middle, equalling or longer than sepals. — Not rare 

 in shaded places of the Yellow Pine Belt. 



