262 Order 21.— CARYOPHYLLACEJH. 



14. POLYCARPON. L. All-seed. (Gr. rroXvg, many, KaoTrdc-, fruit 

 The capsules are numerous.) Sepals 5, ovate, carinate, scarious-edged ; 

 capsule 3-valved, many-seeded. — 1) Lvs. opposite and quaternate on the 

 low spreading branches. 



P. tetraphyllum L. Lvs. spatulate or oval, tapering to f. petiole, some of them 

 in whorls of 4 ; stam. 3. — Around Charleston, S. Car. A low, much branched 

 plant, sts. 3 to 6' high. Lvs. 2 to 5" long. Stip. several at each joint, ovate- 

 lanceolate, membraneous. Fls. small, in dense cymes. Pet. much shorter than 

 sep., notched, white. May, Jn. § Eur. 



15. STIPULICIDA, Michx. (Lat. stipula, cccdo ; the stipules being 

 much cleft.) Sepals oblong, with broad, scarious margins ; petals 5, as 

 long as the sepals, entire ; stigmas 3, subsessilc ; capsule subglobous, 

 3-valved, few-seeded. — (D A slender, tufted, dichotomously branched 

 herb, almost leafless, with the small lis. in terminal cymules. 



S. setacea Mx. In dry, sandy soils, Ga. (Feay, Mettauer) and Fla. (Chapman). 

 Sts. many from one root, glabrous, 6 to 10' high, each several times forked, slen- 

 der, the branches almost setaceous. Root lvs. roundish-obovate, narrowed to a 

 petiole, 1" diam. JoiDts distant, each marked by a fringe of leaves and stipules 

 •£" long. Fls. sessile, 4 to 6 together, green and white, at length reddish. May. 



16. PARONY CHIA, Tourn. Nailwort. (Gr. irapa, with, 6vv%, the 

 nail ; i. e., the whitlow ; supposed cure for.) Sepals 5, linear-oblong, 

 connivent, slightly hooded and mucronate or awned near the apex ; 

 petals or sterile filaments very narrow and scale-like or none ; stam. 2, 

 3, or 5 ; stigmas 2 ; with the styles more or less united into 1 ; utricle 

 1-seeded, not exceeding the calyx. — Low herbs dichotomously branched, 

 with scarious, silvery stipules, and at least the lower lvs. opposite. 



§ Paronychia. Sepals evidently awned at apex. Lvs. linear and subulate Nos. 1, 2 



§ Anychia (Mx. partly). Sep. merely nuicronate at apex. Lvs. lanceolate to oval.(*) 



* Steins procumbent, diffuse on the ground. Stamens 5 Nos. 3, 4 



* Stems erect, with diffusely ascending branches. Stamens 2 or 3... Nos. 5, 6 



1 P. dichotdma Nutt. Glabrous, densely branched ; lvs. acerose, mucronate ; 

 bracts like the leaves; cymes fastigiate, with no central flower ; sep. 3-veined, cus- 

 pidate. — %. Rocks (Harper's Ferry), Va., and Car. to Ark., rare. Densely matted 

 and branched, the flowering stems 6 to 12' high. Lvs. crowded, 1' by |". Sty. 

 bifid at top. Minute seta? in place of petals. Jl. — Nov. 



2 P. argyrocoma Nutt. Pubescent, tufted, decumbent; lvs. linear, acute; cymes 

 glomerate, terminal ; fls. enveloped in dry, silvery bracts : sep. hairy, 1-veined, 

 setaceously cuspidate. — r 4- White Mts., N. H., in the gorge behind the Willey 

 house (Chapman) and in the Allegh. and Cumb. Mts. Flowering stems 4 to 10' 

 high. Lvs. crowded, 6 to 10" long. — Fls. concealed in the bracts; the cusp 

 equaling the sepals. Jl. 



3 P. herniarioides Nfttt. Scabrous, diffusely branched ; lvs. oval or oblong, 

 mucronate ; the raminal alternate. Fls. sessile in the axils of the leaves ; sep. 

 3-veined, merely mucronate. — % N. Car. (Miss Carpenter) to Ga., in sandy soil. 

 A little depressed plant, spreading on the sand, with minute lvs. and fls. 

 Branches alternate with 1-sided branchlets. Lvs. 3 — 2 — 1" long, £ as wide, 

 stip. shorter. Fls. \" long. 



4 P. Baldwinii Torn & Gr. Diffusely branched, procumbent ; lvs. linear- 

 lanceolate, very acute, all opposite; fls. longer than the setaceous stipules, mosUy 

 terminal, stalked ; stam. 6. — Fla. (Mettauer), in dry fields. Sts. more openly 

 branched, many from the same root, covering a circular spot 12 — 20' diam. 

 Lvs. few, 3 — 8" long, I — 2" wide, sessile. Fls. a J larger than in No. 3. Oct. 



5 P. Canadensis. Stem erect, slender, pubescent, many times forked, with 

 Blender or capillary branches ; lvs. lanceolate, varying to oblanceolato ; th© 



