Vor. II.] PINK FAMILY. 21 
2. Alsine humifusa (Rottb.) Britton. Low 
Chickweed. (Fig. 1473.) 
Stellaria humifusa Rottb. Skrift. Vid. Selsk. 10: 447. 
1770. 
Arenaria thymitfolia Pursh, Fl. Am. Sept. 317. 1814. 
Alsine humifusa Britton, Mem. Torr. Club, 5: 150 
1894. 
Glabrous, stems branching, spreading and as- 
cending, 1/-3” long, purplish. Leaves ovate or ob- 
long, Rei, 2//-3// long, acutish or obtuse, sessile; 
bracts foliaceous; flowers few or solitary, terminal 
or axillary, 3//-5’’ broad; sepals ovate-lanceolate, 
acute or acutish, 2’’ long; petals 2-parted, equalling 
or somewhat exceeding the calyx; capsule ovoid, 
as long as the sepals; seeds smooth, brown. 
In moist or wet places, Labrador to New Brunswick 
and Maine, west to Alaska. Also in northern Europe 
and Asia. Summer. 0) rm 
3. Alsine uligindsa ee Britton. Bog} 
Starwort. Marsh Chickweed. (Fig. 1474.) 
Stellaria uliginosa Murr. Prodr. Goett. 55. 1770. 
Alsine uliginosa Britton, Mem. Torr. Club, 5: 150. 1894. 
Weak, decumbent or ascending, slender, generally 
growing in dense masses, stems nearly simple, 6/-16/ 
long. Leaves oblong, 8’/-12/’ long, 2//-5’’ wide, nar- 
rowed at the base, the lower slightly petioled and 
sometimes ciliate, the upper sessile; flowers 3’ broad, 
in lateral sessile cymes, rarely terminal; pedicels slen- 
der; sepals 1//-1}4’’ long, lanceolate, acute; petals 2- 
parted, about the length of the calyx and the ovoid 
pod; seeds rough. 
In cold brooks and springs, Maryland, eastern Pennsyl- 
vania and western New Jersey, north to New Brunswick. 
Also in British Columbia and the Northwest Territory, 
Europe and Asia. Called also Bog or Marsh Stitchwort. 
Summer. 
4. Alsine média L. Common Chick- 
weed. (Fig. 1475.) 
Alsine media J,. Sp. Pl. 272. 175 
Stellaria media Cyr. Char. Conee “36. 1784. 
Annual, weak, tufted, much branched, decum- 
bent or ascending, 4/-16’ long, glabrous except 
a line of hairs along the stem and branches, the 
pubescent sepals and the sometimes ciliate peti- 
oles. Leaves ovate or oval, 2//-1%4’ long, 
acute or rarely obtuse, the lower petioled and 
often cordate, the upper sessile; flowers 2’/-4’’ 
broad, in terminal leafy cymes or also solitary 
in the axils; pedicels slender; sepals oblong, 
mostly acute, longer than the 2-parted petals; 
stamens 2-10; capsule ovoid, longer than the 
calyx; seeds rough. 
In waste places, meadows and woods, common 
throughout North America. Naturalize d from Eu- 
rope, though possibly native northward. Native 
also of Asia and now almost universally distributed 
asaweed. Jan.—Dec. 
