lys iLowj.Ks oi' Till'. si-:a-coast 



It is nuicli less compact than Cheddar I'iiik, havin;^- luinicrous 

 branched stems (beintj caulescent or forming' aerial stems), the barren 

 stems sprcadin>f, and suberect or prostrate, while a rosette of barren 

 shoots is formed. The stems are not dwarfed as in Moss Campion. 

 The leaves are obloni.,^, tajjcrinj^'. 



The flowering stems are panicled or solitary, and erect, the calyx 

 bladder-like, swollen, netted, the flowers panicled, the petals white, 

 cleft, and crowned. The nerves of the caly.x are netted, and the capsule 

 is not completely divided by septa. The flowers are larj^er than in 

 the Bladder Campion. The bracts are herbaceous, and the styles are 

 dixiiled into Iwt) ncarh' to the base. 



The plant is usually 9 in. hi^h. The flowers are in bloom from 

 August to September. It is pennmial and propagated by division. 



The tube is long and narrow, and the flowers are adapted to 

 pollination by long-tongued Lepidoptera; the flowers are drooping in 

 habit, with an inflated calyx, and the anthers are projected after they 

 mature, and the flowers are proterandrous, i.e. the anthers ripen first. 

 In S. Cucitbalits the flowers are trimorphic. 



The seeds of Sea Campion are dispersed by the agency ot tlie 

 wind. The capsule opens above, and the many small seeds, partly 

 winged, are upset by gusts of wind and blown to a distance. 



The plant is a halophyte or salt-lover, requiring a saline soil, and 

 is a sand plant, addicted to sandy seashores. 



Uro/i/yccs bc/icnis and Ustilago violacca are parasitic fungi which 

 live on it. The Netted Pug Moth {^Eupithoecia veiiosaia). Bordered 

 Gothic {Ncitn'a Sapoiian'ir), Gclcchia Icucoiuanclla, Barrett's Marl)led 

 Coronet {^Diaiifho'cia barreffii), the Gray {D. ctcsia), and the Pod-lover 

 {D. capsophild) feed on it. 



Silenc, of Theophrastus, is from the satyr Silenus of ancient Greek 

 m)thology, and niaritinia refers to the habitat of the plant. 



Sea Campion is called Thimble and the ^\"itches' Thimble. 



EssKXTiAL Specific Characters:— 



47. Silciic marilinia, \\ith. — Stems numerous, spreading, leaves 

 glaucous, entire, oblong, flowers white, solitary, erect, calyx inflated, 

 petals notched, crowned. 



Sea Purslane (Arenaria peploides, L.) 



This maritime species has been found in the Interglacial deposits 

 of Hants. It is found in the Arctic and North Temperate Zones on 

 the shores of Western Europe, from the Arctic regions to Spain, and 



