SPERGULA. XXIL ILLECEBRACEZ. 185 
nearly sessile; fi. united above the middle; capsules oblong, much longer than 
the sepals —Swamps, N. J. to Ky. Stem about 2f high. Leaves 1—2! long, 
rounded-obtuse. Flowers smaller than in the last, of a dull orange-color. 
Aug. Sept. 
Orver XXII. ILLECEBRACE &.—Kwnorworts. 
Plants herbaceous or suffruticose, branching. : 
Lvs. sessile, entire. Stipules and bracts scarious. Fis. minute, 
Cal.—Sepals 5, distinct or coherent at base, persistent. ‘ 
Cor.—Petals minute, inserted between the sepals, often wanting, : ; ‘ 
Sta. equal in number to the sepals (sometimes less or more) inserted into the perigynous disk. 
Ova. superior, 1-celled. Sty. 2—5, either partially or wholly combined. 
Fr. a utricle, sd. solitary, attached to base of cell; or a many-seeded capsule. 
_ Genera 24, species 100, found mostly around the Mediterranean. Seven of the genera have been found 
in N. America. A slight astringency is their only known property. 
Conspectus of the Genera. 
1 or sterile filaments none. . . . Sse ols yn Caw s Ameen 
minute, resembling sterile filaments. S : é F ; As ‘ . Paronychia. 2 
Petals ( conspicuous, white or rose-colored. : ; . Sperguia 3 
. 1ANYCHIA. Michx. 
Gr. ovré, the finger nail; a supposed remedy for the maladies of that organ. 
Calyx of 5, ovate-oblong, connivent sepals, callous, subsaccate at the 
apex ; corolla 0; filaments 2—5, distinct; stigma subcapitate ; utri- 
cle enclosed in the sepals —® Small herbs, with dichotomous branches. 
Lvs. stipulate. 
A. picHotéma. Michx. (Queria Canadensis. Linn.) Forked Chickweed. 
St. at length much branched, erect; dvs. lanceolate, cauline ones oppo- 
site, ramial ones alternate; fis. about as long as the stipules, terminal ones 
subfasciculate-—Dry woods and hills, Can. and N. Eng. to Ark. Stem 4—10’ 
high, round, slender, pubescent above, with dichotomous, filiform branches. 
Leaves 2—8" by 3—2", acute or obtuse, with ovate-acuminate, scarious stipules 
at base situated at each fork of the stem. Flowers axillary, solitary, or in ter- 
minal clusters of 3 or more, very small, white. Jn.—Aug. 
8. capillacea. Torr..—Smooth; branches capillary; Wws. oblong, obtuse, cunei- 
form at base. Ia.! Ill.! 
2, PARONYCHIA. Tourn. 
Etymology similar to the foregoing. 
Sepals united at base, acuminate-cuspidate at apex, the lining 
membrane colored and cucullate or saccate at summit; petals (sterile 
fil.?) very narrow and scale-like; stamens 5; styles more or less 
united; stigmas 2; utricle 1-seeded included in the calyx. 
1. P. Jamesu. Torr. & Gray. 
Cespitose, much branched; Ws. linear-subulate, scabrous; fls. few, in 
small, dense, dichotomous cymes, the central ones sessile; pet. (or sete) alter- 
nate with the fertile filaments; sep. linear, with a minute cusp.—Prairies, 
Mason Co., Ill. Mead. R. Mts. James. Nutt. Stems about if long. Flowers 
small, 
2. P. picooroéma. Nutt. (Achyranthes. Linn.) 
Cespitose, densely branching; dvs. acerose-mucronate, glabrous, 2-grooved 
each side; cymes compound, diffuse, without central fis.; sete much shorter 
than the stamens.—Rocks, Harper’s Ferry. Stems 6—12! high. Leaves 1’ by 
3", crowded. Style bifid +its length. Jl—Nov. 
3. SPERGULA. 
Lat. spergo, to scatter; from the dispersion of the seeds. 
Sepals 5, nearly distinct; petals 5, entire; stamens 5—10; styles 
3—5; capsules superior, ovate, 3—5-valved, many-seeded.—@ Herbs 
with flowers in loose cymes. Lvs. stipulate. 
