HII.I.S, DRV I'l.ACKS, I'TC. 



91 



sliortor than llic sepals. The 5 sepals are benl 

 down between flowerinj; anil liuitin.er, and an- 

 j;landiilar, acute, with broad, incinbranous niai- 

 jfins. The stamens are 4-5, or 10. The capsule 

 projects and is slijjhtly curved, then erect. The 

 iVuit-stalk is lonjfer than the calyx. The plant is 

 1-8 in. high, flowering- from .April to June, and is 

 ;i herbaceous annu.il. 



Dense-headed Mouse Ear (Ceraslium ghmera- 

 turn, Thui;i = C". -■isc'suw. L.).— The habitat ot" this 

 species is dry places, fields, and banks. The habit 

 is erect as in the last, or branched, but the plant 

 is larger and the leaves oval-shaped, pale greoi\. 

 The bracts are not membranous, hairy. The 

 flowers are in close, tutted cymes, more or less 

 forming a head at first, longer than the stalks. 

 The petals are divided into two nearly to the base, 

 not so long as the sepals. They are acute, lance- 

 shaped, the margin narrowly membranous, hairy, 

 with few glands. The capsule is twice as long as 

 the sepals, bent, cylindrical, the stalks as long as 

 the calyx. The plant is 3-10 in. high, flowering 

 between .April and September, and is a herbaceous 

 perennial. 



Sandwort (Arenaria verna, L. ). — The habitat 

 of this species is dry rocks, pastures, banks, rocky 

 places in mountainous districts. The habit is the 

 rosette or cushion habit. The stems are tufted. 

 The rootslock is woody. The plant is bright- 

 green, glandular, with few hairs. The leaves are 

 appresscd, awl-like, linear, crowded, 3-nerved, 

 acute, with a sharp point. The flowers are few, 

 white, on slender, rigid branches. The bracts 

 are acute, with membranous margins. The 

 flower-stalks are slender, glandular. The sepals 

 are ovate, lance-shaped, acute, 3-veined, with 

 membranous margin. The petals are round, in- 

 versely ovate, narrow below, longer than the calyx. 

 The capsule exceeds the sepals. The plant is 

 1-4 in. high, flowering from June to September, 

 and is a herbaceous perennial. 



Lloyd's Sandwort (Arenaria serpylli/olia, L.). 

 — Lloyds Sandwort is found in dry places and on 

 wall-tops. The habit is prostrate, or more or less 

 erect. The stem is much-branched, rigid, downy, 

 greyish-green, the hairs bent back. The leaves 

 are ovate, long-pointed, more or less stalkless, 

 1-3 nerved, fringed with hairs. The flowers are 

 numerous, white, in cymes from forks of the stem 

 or axils of the leaves, with leaflike bracts. The 

 sepals have 3-5 hairy ribs, with narrow margins, 

 and are longer than the petals, ovate, lance- 

 shaped, acute. The petals are ovate, narrowed 

 below. The fruit-stalks are erect or spreading, 

 straight, longer than the capsule. The cap.sule is 

 pitcher-like, ovoid, brittle when ripe. The seeds 

 are rough, shining, without an aril. The plant is 

 2-12 in. high, flowering from May to August, and 

 is a herbaceous annual. 



Cyphel (Arenaria cherlieri, Benth. = A. sedoides, 

 L.). — The habitat of this plant is summits of lofty 

 Scotch mountains. The habit is the cushion habit. 

 The plant is tufted, with many compact stems, 

 with a long tap-root, short, moss-like. The leaves 

 are numerous, linear, awl-like, fringed with fine 



hairs, overlapping, 3-angled, blunt, grooved above. 

 The flowers are solitary, often apetalous, stalk- 

 less, or shortly-stalked. The sepals are blunt, 

 3-nerved, with membranous holders. In the male 

 flowers the petals are awl-like. The capsule is 

 egg-shaped, not so long as the sepals. The plant 

 is 1-2 in., lorming cushions 6 in. to i It. in dia- 

 meter, and flowers from June to August, being a 

 herbaceous perennial. 



OUDIOR LiNACEiE 



Perennial Flax (Linum perenne, L.). — The 

 habitat of this plant is chalky and limestone soils. 

 The habit is grasslike. The stems are erect, 

 numerous, wiry, slender, smooth. The leaves are 

 alternate, narrow, lance-shaped, linear, acute. 

 The flowers arc bright - blue, few, in racemose 

 cymes. The sepals are inversely egg-shaped, ob- 

 scurely 5-veined, hairless, llio inner 3 very blunt, 

 entire. The petals are large, distinct. The fruit- 

 stalks are erect. The plant is i- 2 ft. high, flower- 

 ing in June and July, and is a herbaceous perennial. 



Branching Fla.x(/.inum angustifoliuni, Huds.). 

 — The habitat of this plant is dry sandy and 

 chalky places in the south. The habit is as in the 

 last. The stems are numerous, loose, with few, 

 irregular, spreading branches. The leaves are 

 narrow {hence angjtst ifoliutn)^ alternate, linear to 

 lance-shaped, fewer and smaller than in L. perenne. 

 The flowers are pale-lilac or blue, lew, arranged 

 in a cyme. The sepals are elliptic, pointed, 

 fringed with hairs, the outer egg-shaped, with a 

 long, narrow point, the inner 3-nerved, fringed 

 with hairs. The capsule is downy within. The 

 plant is 1-2 ft. high, flowering in July .uul August, 

 and is a herbaceous perennial. 



Order Legiminos.!: 



Rest l\axxo^(Ononisrepctis, L. = O. arveiisis, L.). 

 — The habitat of this plant is dry pastures, barren, 

 sandy places, sandy shores. The habit is shrubby, 

 prostrate, then ascending (hence repots). The 

 stem is hairy all round, spineless, clammy, with 

 soft hairs, with stolons, rooting at the base. The 

 leaflets are broad, oblong, the lateral sometimes 

 wanting. The flowers are rose colour, axillary, 

 solitary, stalked. The wings equal the keel, the 

 standard being rather longer. The pods arc egg- 

 shaped, erect, not so long as the calyx, the seeds 

 luberclcd. The plant is 1-2 ft. high, flowering 

 from June to September, and is a herbaceous or 

 shrubby perennial. 



Subterranean Trefoil (7>//u//k/h sub/erraneuni, 

 L.). — The habitat of this plant is dry gravelly and 

 sandy pastures. The habit is prostrate. The 

 stems are numerous, hairy. The leaflets are hairy, 

 broadly, inversely heart-shaped. The stipules are 

 egg-shaped, pointed. The flowers are white, 

 longer than the calyx, 2-5 in a head. The stalks 

 are erect at first, curved after flowering, and the 

 plant buries the fruit in the ground (hence subler- 

 raneuni). The calyx is hairless, with threadlike 

 teeth, equal, as long as the tube, inflated in fruit, 



