224 CARYOPHYLLACE^. Silene. 



midrib prominent below : flowers verticillately spicate, nodding : calyx even in anthesis 

 broad, oblong or campanulate becoming obovate, strongly marked with purple or green 

 nerves ; those at the commissures irregularly anastomosing with the others and frequently 

 double; teeth triangular, acute, with membranous incurved margins: petals purple, not 

 greatly exceeding the calyx ; claws very broad, laterally ciliate ; blades short, bifid ; seg- 

 ments somewhat oblique, often toothed : capsule ovate on a short stipe. — S. Scouleri of 

 various authors, not Hook. ; thus Gray, Am. Jour. Sci. ser. 2, xxxiii. 405, & Proc. Acad. 

 Fhilad. 1863, 58; Porter & Coulter, Fl. Col. 12; Wats. 1. c. x. 342, in part; Coulter, Man. 

 Kocky Mt. Reg. 32, in part. Lychnis elala, Robinson, Proc. Am. Acad, xxviii. 148, as to 

 plants of Colorado, not Wats., 5-carpelled form. — Alpine regions of Colorado, Hall & Har- 

 bour, Greene, French, Brandegee, Patterson; a doubtful specimen from Arizona, A'now/^on; 

 11. August, September. 

 S. Scouleri, Hook. Pubescent, glandular-viscid above: root stout: stems simple, Ij to 2^ 

 feet high : leaves narrowly oblanceolate or lance linear, acuminate, not at all warty : 

 inflorescence 6 to 8 inches long, verticillately spicate, or the lower flowers borne in short 

 appressed cymes : calyx clavate ; nerves definite, but anastomosing above ; teeth short with 

 broad membranous margins, ciliate : petals white or purplish ; claws with rather narrow 

 slightly laciuiate auricles ; blades bifid ; segments emarginate or toothed ; appendages 

 blunt; carpophore 2 lines long. — Fl. Bor.-Am. i. 88; Torr. & Gray, Fl. i. 191; Rolirb. 

 Monogr. Sil. 213. 5. Drummondii, Gray, Proc. Am. Acad. viii. 377. Elisanthe Scouleri, 

 Ruprecht, Fl. Cauc. i. 200. — Frequent in mountainous districts of Oregon and Idaho to 

 Vancouver Isl. and " Northwest Coast," Menzies ; Colorado, Brandegee ; fl. July, August. 



S. Pringlei, Watson. Habit, inflorescence, and calyx of the last : leaves very long, usually 

 narrow and attenuate, both surfaces roughened (especially in the older leaves) with fine 

 warts : petals purplish, bifid ; segments each bearing a lateral tooth ; auricles rather broad ; 

 appendages saccate : capsule ovate-oblong, well stiped. — Proc. Am. Acad, xxiii. 269. — 

 Mt. Graham, Arizona, Rothrock; New Mexico, Fendler, Greene. (Chihuahua, Pringle, 

 Hartman.) 



7. LYCHNIS, Tourn. Cockle. (Name ancient, from Xv-^o^, a lamp, 

 in reference to the bright color of certain European species.) — Inst. 333, t. 175 ; 

 L. Gen. no. 381; DC. Prodr. i. 385; Torr. & Gray, Fl. i. 194; Endl. Gen. 

 972-974; A. Br. Flora, 1843, 369; Reichenb. Ic. Fl. Germ. vi. t. 303-308; 

 Benth. & Hook. Gen. i. 147 ; Wats. Proc. Am. Acad. xii. 246; Baill. Hist. PL 

 ix. 108 ; Robinson, Proc. Am. Acad, xxviii. 147. Lychnis, Melandryum (in 

 part), & Viscaria, Pax in Engl. & Prantl, Nat. Pflanzenf. iii. Ab. lb, 70, 73. 

 Lychnis, Coronaria, Viscaria, Eudianthe, & Melandryum (in part), Williams, 

 Jour. Bot. xxxi. 170, 171. — A considerable and as here taken rather composite 

 genus, chiefly of Europe and Asia, and too closely allied to Silene. The number 

 of carpels is far from being satisfactory as a crucial character in separating the 

 genera, and if applied consistently (as by Dr. Watson, 1. c.) leads in our western 

 species of Silene to artificial results. Yet it is deemed best for practical reasons 

 to keep the genera separate, even if the division is based (as between Arenaria 

 and Stellurid) upon a single and not wholly trustworthy character. Examination 

 of a number of specimens seems to show that in American species the characters 

 of partial septation of the capsule, division of the valves, inflation of the calyx, 

 are very variable, and do not lead either individually or in combination to more 

 definite or satisfactory results. The indigenous species are western or arctic 

 (Z. alpina extends eastward and southward to Lower Canada), but several intro- 

 duced European species have become more or less common in the Atlantic and 

 Middle States, and in Canada. 



