124 CARYOPHYLLE^ 



perennial. This rare species, which blossoms in June, grows in tufts near 

 Teesdale, Durham, on the banks of the stream. The whole plant is without 

 down or hairs. 



6. Fine-leaved Sandwort (A. tenuifdlia). — Stems very slender, much 

 branched and forked ; leaves narrow, and awl-shaped, 3-nerved ; calyx about 

 twice as long as the petals. This is a small plant, its stems not more than 

 five or six inches high, and scarcely thicker than a sewing-thread. It grows 

 in sandy fields in several counties of England, bearing its minute white 

 flowers in June and July. It has been said to occur in some parts of Scot- 

 land, but this is doubtful. Like many other of its species, it is a true Sand- 

 wort, and found only on sandy lands. The French call the Sandwort La 

 Sablonnihe, the G-ermans Das Sandkrmd, and the Dutch Zandmuur ; while the 

 Italians, Spanish, and Portuguese call it Arenaria. 



7. Level-topped Sandwort {A. fasHgidta). — Stems erect; leaves in 

 tufts, awl-shaped, pointed with minute bristles ; flowers in dense tufts ; petals 

 shorter than the calyx ; sepals narrow, and pointed, white, with two green 

 ribs. Plant annual. This species was at one time believed to have occurred 

 on some of the Scottish mountains, but this was an error. Sir J. E. Smith 

 remarks that its seeds are beautifully toothed like a wheel, each on a long- 

 slender stalk. It flowers in June. 



8. Norwegian Sandwort {A. norvigica). — Leaves oblong, tapering 

 towards the base, fleshy and smooth ; sepals egg-shaped, acute, with 3 — 5 

 obscure ribs. Plant perennial. This species was discovered in the Shetland 

 Isles, Ijy Mr. T. Edmonston, in 1837 ; and in 1838 Mr. Peach, while travelling 

 with Sir R. Murchison in Unst, the most northerly isle in Britain, found two 

 or three specimens of this rare plant. Its stems are branched, and spread 

 over the ground, and the branchlets are from one to three-flowered. It 

 blossoms in July and August, and is by some regarded as a sub-species of — 



9. Fringed Sandwort [A. cilidta). — Leaves tapering towards the base, 

 roughish, fringed with small hairs ; corolla twice as long as the calyx ; sepals 

 lanceolate and acute, with 3 — 5 prominent ribs. Plant perennial. This 

 small Sandwort is peculiar to the limestone mountains of Sligo, in Ireland. 

 It is downy, and flowers from June to August. 



* * Leaves furnished with stipides. 



10. Purple Sandwort {A. rubra). — Leaves linear, fleshy, pointed with 

 a minute bristle ; stipules chaffy ; stem prostrate ; seeds rough. Plant 

 annual. This little Sandwort is very frequent on the ridges of sandy or 

 gravelly fields, having a number of pretty little purple or pale lilac flowers 

 in the axils of its upper leaves, from June to September. It is much 

 branched, and very easily distinguished from all but the next species, by the 

 egg-shaped stipules, which consist of a pair of thin, white, chaffy scales, 

 united at their base. It is very similar to the sea-side species, but altogether 

 smaller, and less succulent. Many writers believe it to be the same plant, 

 only altered by the condition of the soil on which it grows. 



11. Sea-side Sandwort {A. marina). — Stems prostrate; leaves semi- 

 cylindrical, without points ; stipules white, chaffy, and cleft ; seeds smooth, 

 flattened, the seed-vessel usually longer than the calyx. Perennial. Few 



