48 CARYOPHYLLACE^. 



M. verticilkUa Linn. : stem decumbent, dichotomous ; leaves verticillate, 

 obovate-lanceolate, acute ; peduncles 1-flowered, verticillate. 



Fields. Can. to Car. W. to the Columbia river. July — Sept. (J)- — Stem 

 spreading on the ground in all directions, 4 — 12 inches long. Leaves about 6 in 

 a whorl. Flowers small, wlute, forming a sessile umbel. Carpet Weed. 



7. STELLARIA. 2/m7t.— Stitchwort. 



(From the Latin steUa, a star ; because the corolla is spread in a star-shaped 

 manner.) 



Calyx of 5 sepals. Petals 5, (sometimes by abortion none,) 

 2-cleft or 2-lobed. Stamens 10, or by abortion 3 — 8. Styles 

 3, rarely 4. Capsule 3 — 4-valved ; valves 2-parted, membra- 

 naceous. Seeds usually many. 



1. 5?. media Smith : stem procumbent, with an alternate pubescent late- 

 ral line ; leaves ovate or lanceolate, very smooth ; upper ones sessile ; pe- 

 tals oblong, deeply divided, shorter than the sepals ; stamens 3 — 10. Alsine 

 vtedia Linn. 



Road sides, &c. Can. to Flor. March — ^Nov. (I). — Stem much branched 

 and somewhat succulent. Peduncles axillary and terminal, hairy, de flexed in 

 fruit. Petals white. Stamens usually 3 or 5. Introduced. 



Common Chickweed. 



2. )S, pubera Mich. : pubescent ; stem decumbent ; leaves ovate-oblong, 

 sessile, acute, ciliate ; pedicels filiform dichotomous, recurved or deflexed ; 

 petals longer than the calyx. 



Rocky banks. Penn. to Geor. ; rare. April, May. %■. — Stem 6 — 12 inches 

 liigh, diffttse and dichotomous. Flowers large, axillary and terminal, onfiUforra 

 pedicels. Petals white, deeply bifid. Oval-leaved Stitchwort. 



3. S. longifolia Muhl. : smooth ; stem erect, square, weak ; leaves linear- 

 acute, spreading, with the margins often scabrous ; panicle terminal, divari- 

 cate, very long, bracteate ; petals broad-obovate, 2-parted, about as long as 

 the 3-nerved calyx. Spergulastrum gramiTieum Mich. Micropetalon 

 gramineuvi Pers. 



Moist woods. N. S. and N. to lat. 64°. W. to Oregon. June. %.~^Stem 

 12 — 15 inches high. Petals white, becoming longer than the calyx. Stamens 

 8 — 10. Long-leaved Stitchwort. 



4. ^S. borealis Big. : stem spreading, angular, dichotomous ; leaves oval- 

 lanceolate, acute, veinless ; peduncles axillary, elongated, 1-flowered ; petals 

 deeply cleft, about equal to the calyx ; capsule ovate, oblong, nearly twice 

 as long as the calyx. Micropetalon lanceolaPum Pers. 



Shady swamps. N. Y. to Arct. Amer. July, Aug. (I)- — Stem 4 — 15 inches 

 liigh, weak. Leaves slightly connate. Petals wliite, deeply cleft. 



Northern Stitchwort. 



5. S. aquatica D. C. : weak and decumbent, nearly smooth ; leaves ob- 

 long, acute, veined ; petals 2-cleft, rather shorter than the lanceolate very 

 acute sepals; capsule ovoid, about as long as the calyx. {Torr. d^ G-)\) S. 

 borealis Darlingt. 



Sandy springs. Penn. W. to the Rocky Mountains. May. %. — Stem 6 — 12 

 inches long, very slender. Flowers white, smaller than in the preceding. , 



Water Stitchwort. 



