82 BRITISH BOTANY. 



S. officinalis, Liu. Common Soapwort. — e.b. lOGO. l.b.s. 

 151. 



A. 15. C. 50. Lat. 50-56°. Alt. 0-150 yds. Tern. 53-47°. 



Root perennial, creeping, branching, bearing scions. Stems 

 cylindrical, leafy, 1-3 feet high, paniclecl (branched) above. 

 Leaves elliptical-lanceolate or ovate, acute, 3-ribbed. Flowers 

 erect, in a dense level-topped panicle, rosy or pale lilac. Calyx 

 herbaceous, cylindrical, with 4 teeth (almost 2-lipped) . Capsule 

 opening by 4 short, reflexed teeth. 



Roadsides, hedges, etc. Uncommon. Perennial; July-Sep- 

 tember. 



Var. Saponaria concava anglica, Bauh., Gentiana concava, Ger. 

 435, is a curious variety, with a monopetalous corolla and with 

 some of the upper leaves combined and sheathing. It was first 

 found by Gerarde, in Northamptonshire. It has also been re- 

 ported from some sandy hills seven miles north of Liverpool. 



S. Vaccaria, Lin. — Gypsophila Vaccaria, Sm. Fl. Grsec. 380. 

 A. 1. 



Root annual. Stem erect, repeatedly forked, glabrous. Leaves 

 sessile, ovate-lanceolate, slightly connate at the base. Flowers 

 pink or rosy, in a lax cyme. Calyx with 5 -winged angles, mem- 

 branous. Petals not much surpassing the calyx. Capsule 

 opening by four erect valves (teeth). 



River-side, near the Steam-boat Pier, Wandsworth. 



The habit and appearance of this species, as Smith says, agrees 

 better with Gypsophila than with Saponaria. 



SiLENE, Lin. — Annual or perennial plants, with glabrous, pu- 

 bescent, or viscid stems, and with ovate-oblong or lanceolate or 

 linear leaves. Flowers in panicles or cymes, rarely in apparent 

 clusters, or solitary and terminal. Calyx tubular, more or less 

 inflated, with 5 teeth, without a calycule. Petals 5, with long 

 claws, with or without scales above the claws (with or without a 

 crown). Stamens 10. Styles 3. Capsules 3-celled (imperfectly), 

 opening by 6 teeth or valves. Seeds numerous, kidney-shaped, 

 roughish, attached to the central column. 



S. anglica, Lin.? — S. gallica, L. Sp. 595. English Catchfly. 

 e.b. 1178. 



A. 14. C. 40. Lat. 50-58°. Alt. 0-200 yds. Tern. 52-47°. 



Roots annual, fibrous. Stem spreading, branched, hairy, 

 more or less viscid, from half a foot to two feet high. Lower 



