CARYOPHYLLACE^. 209 



* Seeds compressed or meniscoidal, attached by the flattened or concave face; embryo 

 straight or nearly so. 



-t— Calyx ebracteolate : stamens mostly 5. 



1. VELEZIA. Calyx slender, elongated, cylindrical, 5-ribbed or (more often) subequally 

 15-ribbed, sharply 5-toothed. Petals small, scarcely appendaged; blades 2(-4)-toothed or 

 rarely entire. Torus not elongated. Styles 2 ; slender terete capsule 4-valved at the sum- 

 mit. Flowers sessile or very shortly peduncled. 



-t— -)— Calyx subtended by one or more pairs of bractlets : stamens 10. 



2. DIANTHUS. Calyx tubular, 5-toothed, finely many-striate. Petals 5, with long claws ; 

 the blade entire, emarginate, or several-toothed. Styles 2. Capsule dehiscent by 4 valves. 

 Leaves narrow, often connate by narrow scarious membranes. Plowers commonly showy. 



3. TUNICA. Calyx turbinate or cylindrical, obtusely toothed, distinctly 5-ribbed, or some- 

 times 15-ribbed. Petals 5. Styles 2. Flowers considerably smaller and habit more slender 

 than in Diantkvs. 



* * Seeds laterally attached ; embryo curved : calycine bractlets none. 

 -I— Styles 2 ; capsule 4-toothed or -valved : introduced plants. 



4. GYPSOPHILA. Calyx turbinate, tubular or campanulate, 5-toothed, herbaceous only 

 in the middle of the segments, the intermediate parts being scarious. Petals 5. Stamens 

 10. Flowers mostly small, paniculate or scattered, rarely aggregated. Capsule rather 

 deeply 4-valved. 



5. SAPONARIA. Calyx tubular or ovoid, 5-toothed, terete with numerous faint veins, 

 or conspicuously 5-augled. Flowers showy. Petals 5. Stamens 10. Capsule dehiscent at 

 apex by 4 short teeth. 



-1— -i— Styles normally 3 (sometimes 4 or 5) ; capsule opening by 3 or 6 teeth : calyx com- 

 monly 10-nerved, rarely oc-nerved. 



6. SILENE. Calyx 5-toothed, campanulate, subcylindric or turbinate, either inflated or 

 becoming distended by the maturing capsule, 10-cc-nerved. Petals usually appendaged at 

 the summit of tlie claw; the blade variously toothed or divided, rarely entire. Stamens 10. 

 Styles 3 (rarely 4 or 5). Stipe of the ovary commonly developed. Capsule 1-celled or 

 somewhat 3-celled at the base. Flowers solitary, racemose, or cymose-paniculate. 



^— -1— -1— Styles 5, alternating with the petals when of the same number: calyx-teeth 

 not foliaceous. 



7. LYCHNIS. Calyx ovoid, obovate, or clavate, 5-toothed, 10-nerved, inflated or not. 

 Petals with or without appendages ; the blade entire, emarginate, bifid or variously cleft. 

 Stamens 10. Ovary 1-celled or divided at the base into 5 partial cells. Capsule dehiscent 

 by as many or twice as many teeth as there are styles. 



-1— H— -t— -)— Styles 5, opposite the petals : calyx-teeth conspicuously prolonged into folia- 

 ceous appendages : introduced plants. 



8. AGROSTEMMA. Calyx ovoid, with 10 strong ribs ; the elongated teeth in our species 

 an inch or more in length, exceeding the five large unappendaged petals. Stamens 10. 

 Capsule 1-celled. Leaves linear. 



Tribe II. ALSINEiE. Sepals free or slightly united at the very base. Petals 

 more or less contracted but not unguiculate below. Corona absent. Flowers 

 mostly small. Styles distinct to the base. 



* Stipules none. 

 -1— Capsule cylindric, more or less elongated, often curved, dehiscent by twice as many teeth 

 as there are carpels. 



9. HOLOSTEUM. Sepals 5. Petals 5, white, subentire or denticulate toward the apex. 

 Stamens 3 to 5, very rarely 10. Styles 3 (occasionally 4 or 5), longitudinally stigmatic. 

 Pod unicellular ; seeds numerous, dorsally flattened, i. e. parallel witli the incumbent cotyle- 

 dons; the radicle prominent upon the ventral surface. Inflorescence umbelliform. 



14 



