72 FOUNDATIONS OF BOTANY 



Sepals more or less united. Petals with claws. Capsule several- 

 many-seeded. 



(a) Calyx without l)racts, its lobes long and leaf -like. 



Agrostemma, IV. 



(&) Calyx without bracts, lobes not leaf-like. Styles 3 or 4. 



Silene, V. 



(c) Calyx without bracts, lobes not leaf -like. Styles 5 (rarely 4). 



Lychnis, VI. 

 (</) Calyx with little bracts at the base. Styles 2. 



Dianthus, VII. 



I. STELLARIA, L. Chickweed. 



Slender, usually smooth herbs. Flowers small, white, soli- 

 tary, or in forking cymes. Sepals 5 (rarely 4). Petals 5 

 (rarely 4), 2-eleft or divided. Stamens 10 (rarely 8, 5, or 3), 

 maturing in 2 sets. Styles 3 (rarely 4 or 5), opposite the same 

 number of petals ; ovary 1-celled, many-ovuled. Capsule 

 short, splitting into as many valves as there are styles. 



1, S. media, Cyrill. Common Chickweed. Stem prostrate, 

 6-18 in. long, with a line or two of hairs along it. Leaves ovate, 

 taper-pointed, the lower petioled, the upper sessile. Petals shorter 

 than the sepals, sometimes wanting. An annual weed, introduced 

 from Europe, common in damp, shady places X. 



2. S. longifolia, Muhl. Long-leaved Stitckwort. Stem 

 slender, usually erect, 8-18 in. high, often sharply 4-angled. Leaves 

 linear or nearly so, spreading. Flower-clusters peduncled, many- 

 flowered, the pedicels spreading. Petals 2-parted, at length longer 

 than the calyx. Perennial in meadows and grassy thickets, espe- 

 cially N. 



n. CERASTIUM, L. 



Annual or perennial. Stems diffuse, usually downy ; leaves 

 opposite. Flowers white, peduncled, in terminal, regularly 

 forking cymes. Sepals 4-5. Petals 4-5, notched or 2-cleft. 

 Stamens 10. Styles 5 or less. Capsule cylindrical, 1-celled, 

 many-seeded..* 



1. C. vulgatum, L. Mouse-ear Chickweed. Annual or some- 

 times perennial. Stems diffuse, tufted, clammy-downy, 6-12 in. 



