79 



CARYOPHYLLACE^, Juss. The Pink Family. 



Annual or perennial, herbaceous plants, rarely shrubby at the 

 base. Stems usually forked (dichotomous), jointed, often en- 

 larged at the articulations (junctions). Leaves entire, opposite, 

 often sessile and connate at the base, rarely furnished with sca- 

 rious stipules. Flowers perfect and regular, in terminal forked 

 cymes, which are sometimes unilateral by abortion, sometimes 

 clustered or panicled. Sepals five, rarely four, free or united at 

 the base, and forming a tubular calyx, usually persistent, imbricate 

 in prefloration. Petals five, rarely four, more rarely wanting. 

 Stamens as many or twice as many as the petals, with two-lobed 

 introrse anthers. Ovary stipitate, one-celled, with many ovules. 

 Ovules inserted on a central placenta or at the internal angles. 

 Styles 2-5, filiform, with internal stigmas (the stigmas are jon 

 the inner face of the styles) . Fruit capsular, many-seeded, rarely 

 few-seeded, one-celled, rarely having 2—5 incomplete cells, open- 

 ing by valves or teeth, which are as many or twice as many as 

 the styles, rarely baccate and indehiscent. Seeds more or less 

 reniform, ovate, or lenticular, with a shagreened or tubercular shell 

 (testa) . Perisperm farinaceous. Embryo annular or half-annular, 

 embracing the perisperm. Radicle pointing to the hilum. 



Sub-Order I. Stleke.e. — Sepals united in a tube (at least for some 

 distance above the base), free at the apex. Petals with an elon- 

 gated claw. 



SYNOPSIS OF THE GENEEA. 



DiANTHTJS. — Calyx calijcidate (surrounded by bracts or scales at the base) ; 



styles two. 

 Saponaria. — Calyx without bracts at the base ; styles two. 

 SiLENE. — Calyx tubular, more or less tumid, without bracts (calycule) ; 



styles three. 

 Lychnis. — Sepals and petals as in Silene; styles five. 

 CrcUBAXtrs. — Styles three ; fi"uit baccate. 



Sub-Ordek II. AlsinEjE. — Sepals free or but slightly cohering at the 

 base. Petals Avith very short claws. (See infra.) 



DiANTHUS, Lin. — Perennial, rarely annual plants. Stems tur- 

 gid at the articulations (junctions or joinings). Leaves linear. 

 Flowers in terminal cymes, rarely solitary. Calyx tubular, with 

 five teeth, surrounded at the base by a calycule (outer calyx) of 

 2-6 scarious or herbaceous imbricate bracts. Petals Avith long 

 chiAA's and a flat horizontal limb. Stamens ten. Stvlcs tAvo. 



