no 



leaves decreasing in size upward. The basal shoots have longer 

 leaves, all gracefully recurved, and forming a crowded cluster 

 at the summit of a long strong fibrous tap-root, which often 

 penetrates deep down into some crevice and breaks off when 

 uprooted. For this reason the plant frequently survives, in spite 

 of its showy blossoms, though it is not abundant any longer, 

 where it is frequently picked. 



The Wild Pink was described by Thomas Walter in his Flora of 

 Carolina in 1788, and redescribed by Andr4 Michaux in 1803 as 

 Silene Pennsylvanica. It often grows in sandy or rocky soil on 

 the borders of woods from Maine to Georgia in the Eastern States, 

 along the Alleghanies, and flowers from April to June. 



It belongs to the pink family or Caryophyllaceae a large family 

 of about seventy genera and over 1,500 species, which are widely 

 distributed, mostly in temperate regions. The generic name 

 Silene was given by Linnaeus in 1753 in reference to the viscid 

 hairs and about 250 species are known of which many are showy 

 graceful plants, the showiest perhaps being the Fire-pink, Silene 

 virginica, and the most graceful, the Starry Campion, Silene 

 stellata. 



Elizabeth G. Brixton. 



