50 CARYOPHYLLACE^. 



5. A. serpyllifnlia Linn : stem dichotomous, diffuse ; leaves ovate, acute, 

 sessile, somewhat rugose, smooth, ciliate ; sepals lanceolate, acute, 3-nerv'ed, 

 larger than the corolla ; capsule ovate, 6-valved, equalling the calyx ; seeds 

 exactly reniform, rugose. 



Sandy fields. Mass, to Geor. May — July. (I). — Stem mostly decumbent, 

 3—8 inches long. Flowers axillarp and terminal, solitary. Introduced from 

 Europe. . Thyme'Ieaved /Sandwort. 



9. MGEHRINGIA. Z/irm.— Mcehriugia. 



(In honor of Moehring, a German physician and botanist of the last century.) 



Sepals 4 — 5. Petals 4 — 5, somewhat perigynous. Stamens 



8 — 10. Styles usually 3, sometimes 2 or 4. Capsule splitting 



into twice as many (half) valves as there are stigmas. Seeds 



few, smooth. 



M. lateriflora Fenzl. : minutely pubescent ; stem erect ; leaves oblong or 

 oval, obtuse ; peduncles lateral and terminal, 2 (rarely 3 — 4) flowered, one 

 of the pedicels vdth 2 bracteoles near the middle ; petals twice the length of 

 the sepals. ( Torr. N. Y. FL.) Arenaria lateriflora Linn. 



Woods. Mass. N. Y. N. to Hudson's Bay ; not very common. June. %.. — 

 Stem 5 — 10 inches high, simple or sparingly branched above. Peduncles axil- 

 lary, solitary, filiform. Flowers white. Lateral-flowered Moehringia. 



10. HONCKENYA; ^ArA.— Sea duckweed. 



(In honor of J. G. Honckeny, a German botanist.) 



Sepals 5, slightly united at base. Petals 6, perigynous, with 



short claws, entire. Stamens 10, mserted with the petals into 



a glanduliferous disk. Styles 3 — 5. Capsules 3 — 5-valved ; 



valves entire, 8 — 10-seeded. Seeds large, smooth. 



H. peploides Ehrh. : sepals broadly ovate, mostly obtuse, with scarious 

 margins; petals spatulate-obovate ; leaves and stem very fleshy. (^Torr. d^ 

 Gr.') Arenaria peploides Linn. 



Sea coast. Long Island, N. Y. Mass. N. J. N. to Arctic America and 

 Labrador. May, June. %. — Stems 6 — 10 inches high, thrown up from a 

 creeping rhizoma. Leaves ovate or oval, closely sessile or clasping, very acute, 

 or mucronate. Flowers in short pedicels, white. Common Sea Chickweed 



11. CERASTIUM. Z^mw.— Mouse-ear Chickweed. 

 (From the Greek Kcpas, a horn ; in allusion to the form of the capsule.) 

 Calyx 5-sepalled. Petals 5, bifid or emarginate. Styles 5, 

 (rarely 4.) Capsule membranaceous, cylindrical or oblong, 

 opening at the summit by 10 teeth. 



1, C. vulgatum Linn.: viscidly pubescent, pale green ; stems numerous, 

 cespitose, subcrect ; leaves ovate or obovate, obtuse, hirsute ; flowers dicho- 

 tomous, subumbelled, longer than the peduncles ; petals oblong, emarginate, 

 scarcely larger than the calyx; capsule oblong, tapering, as long agiiin as 



