Vou. II.] PINK FAMILY. 31 
Valves of the capsule 2-cleft or 2-toothed, sometimes appearing as if double the number of the styles. 
Leaves ovate or oblong. 
Sepals acuminate; annual herb of waste places. 1. A, serpyillifolia. 
Sepals obtuse or scarcely acute; perennial; arctic. 2. A. ciliata, 
Leaves subulate or setaceous. 
Cymes very dense; stems 1/-4’ tall. 3. A. Hookert. 
Cymes loose; stems 4'~15' tall. 4. A. Fendlert. 
Valves of the capsule entire (Genus ALSINE Wahl). 
Leaves rigid, subulate or setaceous. 
Arctic or alpine, densely tufted, 1’-3' high. 
Flowers 5''-8'’ broad 5. A. biffora. 
Flowers 2''-3'' broad. 6. A. verna, 
Neither arctic nor alpine, tufted but diffuse, 4/’-16"’ high. 
Leaves densely imbricated; pine barren species. 7. A. Caroliniana. 
Leaves fascicled in the axils. 
Sepals ovate or ovate-lanceolate, 2'’ long; plant bright green. 8. 4. s¢ricta. 
Sepals narrowly lanceolate, long-acuminate, 2!s'’ long; plant pale green. 
g. A. Texana. 
Leaves soft, herbaceous; narrowly linear or flliform. 
Sepals prominently ribbed; southern. 10. A. patula. 
Sepals not ribbed; alpine and northern. 11. A. Groenlandica. 
1. Arenaria serpyllifolia L. Thyme- 
leaved Sandwort. (Fig. 1499.) 
Arenaria serpyllifolia I, Sp. Pl. 423. 1753. 
Annual, slender, slightly downy-pubescent, 
widely branched and diffuse, 2’-8’ high. Leaves 
ovate, 2’’-4’’ long. 114’/-2’’ wide, acute; pedi- 
cels slender, 2’’-6’’ long; bracts ovate, resem- 
bling the leaves; flowers 2’’ broad or less, very 
numerous in cymose panicles; sepals ovate, 114/” 
long, acute or mucronate, 3-5-nerved, scarious- 
margined; petals obovate or oblong, usually 
shorter; capsule ovoid, slightly shorter than or 
equalling the calyx, dehiscent by 6 short apical 
valves; seeds rough. 
In dry or rocky places, common throughout east- 
ern North America, extending across the continent. 
Naturalized from Europe. Native also of northern 
Asia, and widely distributed as a weed. May-—Aug. 
2. Arenaria ciliata L. Fringed Sandwort. (Fig. 1500.) 
Arenaria ciliata Y,. Sp. Pl. 425. 1753. 
Perennial, tufted, glandular-puberulent, 
stems very slender, creeping or ascending, 
pubescent in lines, 1/5’ long, or the flow- 
ering branches erect. Leaves ovate or ob- 
long, obtuse or acute at the apex, sessile 
or very nearly so, 1//-3’’ long, ciliate or 
glabrous; peduncles filiform, erect, mostly 
1-flowered; flowers about 3’ broad; sepals 
ovate or oblong, obtuse, nerveless or faintly 
I-nerved, about as long as the petals; cap- 
sule oblong, twice as long as the calyx, its 
3 valves deeply 2-cleft; seeds slightly 
roughened. 
Quebec to Greenland. Also in arctic and 
alpine Europe. The American plant is re- 
ferred by Dr. B. lL. Robinson to the var. Au- 
mifusa Hornem.—having glabrous leaves and 
nerveless sepals so far as observed, and may 
be specifically distinct from the European. 
In Europe the species has been separated into 
several varieties. Summer. 
