86 CARYOPIIYLLACEAE 



Flowers yellow. 



Plants prostrate : stamens 6-10. 1. P. oleracen. 



Plants ascending : stamens 12-18. 2. P. neglecta. 



Flowers red. 3. P. pUom. 



1. P. oleracea L. Stems short and small, prostrate, pale : leaves 

 small, \''-W long, thickish and fleshy, obovate or cuneate, rounded 

 at the apex : flowers small, deep yellow, 2"-2'' broad, opening in 

 bright sunshine at about 9:30 A. M. : style 4-6-paited : stamens 

 6-10 : capsule 3''-5'' long : seeds finely rugose. — In fields and waste 

 places. Not very common. Naturalized from Europe. Summer and 

 autumn. 



2. P. neglecta Mackenzie & Bush, sp. nov. Stems long and thick, 

 erect or a.scending, bright reddish-purple : leaves very large, 6^'-2r/^ 

 long, thin, broadly obovate or oblanceolate, rounded and obtuseor retuse 

 at apex : flowers larger, 3''-6'' broad, pale yellow, the petals deeply 

 2-cleft, opening in direct sunshine at about 7:45 A. M. : style 3-4-parted : 

 stamens 12-18 : capsule 4'^-6^^ long : seeds under a lens distinctly 

 tuberculate, blackish, about .35'^ long. — Abundant in rich soil in bot- 



. tonis and on prairies. Grows in large patches, single plants sometimes 

 being four feet across. Summer and autumn. 



3. P. pilosa L. Pilose pubescent with tufts of hair in axils of leaves: 

 leaves linear, terete. — Occurs locally in barrens. Brush Creek, Dodson, 

 Martin City, Raytown, Greenwood, Tarsney. Abundant at times. July- 

 September. 



Family 44. CARYOPHYLLACEAE Keichenb. 

 Herbs with opposite or apparently verticillate leaves and perfect, 

 regular flowers. Sepals 4-5, separate or united. Petals 4-5, or none. 

 Stamens twice as many as petals or less. Styles 2-5. Ovary usually 

 1-celled (rarely 3-5-celled). Ovules attached to a central column. 



Sepals united into a tube. 

 Styles two. 



Calyx tubular. 4. Saponaria. 



Calyx sharply 5 angled. 5. Vaccakia. 



Styles three. 2. Silene. 



Styles five. 



Sepals much exceeding petals. 1. Aorostemma. 



Sepals shorter than petal.s. 3. Lycjinls. 



Sepals distinct or nearly so. 

 Stipules wanting. 



Petals deejjly 2c'eft or 2-parted. 

 Styles three. 6. Alsine. 



Styles live. 7. Cekastu'M. 



Petals entire or emarginate. 



Petals notched at ai)ex. 8. Akenaria. 



Petals not notched at apex. 9. MoEliRiNGlA. 



Stipules present. 



Leaves whorled. 10. Speroula. 



Leaves opposite. 11. ANYChia. 



