524 



calyx tubular, and the limb of the corolla flat ; but he 

 referred Statice and Li?utm hither, which differ widely 

 from this order, while his character excludes the Alsine, 

 orChickweed, tribe." Linnaeus thought Ve/ezia had been 

 wrongly placed here by Gerard, and was doubtful re- 

 specting Cherleria; but he was afterwards satisfied that 

 both are Caryopkyllei. He remarks that " the order 

 consists, as it were, of two leading genera, or rather fa- 

 milies, the Caryophyllus, or Pink tribe, such as Dianthus, 

 Saportaria, Gypsophifa, Silene, Lychnis, &c. ; and the 

 Alsine, or Chickweed family, consisting of Spergula, 

 Cerastiuni, Arenaria, Stellaria, and others. In the first 

 division, the calyx is tubular, of one leaf; in the second 

 of five." A third section of this order has Pharnaceum, 

 Glinus, Mollugo, Polycarpon, Mimiartia, Queria, Or- 

 tegia, Loeflingia ; to which were afterwards added Gisekia 

 and Rotala. Holosteum also, having laciniated stipula- 

 ceous membranes, was intended to have been removed 

 to this third section. Scleranthus, by itself, makes a 

 fourth, but is erased by Linnaeus, and removed to his 31st 

 order. Polypremum, with a query, stands at the end. 



A most extraordinary remark is subjoined by Professor 

 Giseke at p. 354 ; that "Alsine media and Holosteum 

 umbellatum are one and the same plant," and that " Lin- 

 naeus had no specimen of the former in his herbarium in 

 the year 1771." Swartz is cited in confirmation, who 

 only says in his Obs. Bot. 1 1 8, that this Alsine is a spe- 

 cies of Holosteum. We trust it is better referred to Stel- 

 laria in Flo. Brit., and we can affirm that an authentic 

 specimen of this common plant, which Linnaeus had when 

 he published the first edition of Sp. PL, in 1753, still 

 exists in his collection. The real Holosteum umbellatum, 

 a rare English plant, is well delineated in Engl. Bot. 

 t. 27. 



Order 23. Trihilatje. " So called from its three- 

 celled, and three-grained fruit, for all the cells are distinct. 

 Melia however has five cells. The calyx in this order is 



