104 BRITISH BOTANY. 



pules broad, short. Petals obtuse. Capsule longer than the 

 sepals. Seeds roundish, finely shagreened, with a narrow border 

 and smooth wing. 



Fields and rubbish. Annual ; July-September. 



S. pentandra, Lin. — e.b. 1536? Stems solitary or few, 

 erect or ascending, glabrous or almost glabrous. Leaves with- 

 out a groove beneath ; stipules entire, connected in pairs. Pe- 

 dicels spreading or refracted after flowering. Sepals herbaceous, 

 with a narrow scarious margin. Petals lanceolate, acute, shorter 

 than the caly:x. Stamens 5. Seeds lenticular, compressed, sur- 

 rounded with a broad, scarious, undulate or plaited wing. 



Sandy places. Annual ; June. 



Grenier says, " It is distinguished from -S. arvensis by its 

 glaucous hue, fewer and slenderer stems, shorter leaves and 

 earlier flowering." — This appears from Smith's ' English Flora,' 

 vol. ii. p. 337, to be his variety /S, figured in 'English Botany,' 

 vol. xxii. fig. 1536. His distinctive character is, "seeds com- 

 pressed, smooth, with a narrow, whitish, membranous border." 

 Another variety is noticed by the same author, viz. var. 7, and 

 the character given is, " seeds quite flat, pale, with a dark edge, 

 and a white membranous, striated border or wing equal to 

 the seed itself in breadth." The former, /3, was found " about 

 the Botanical Garden, Liverpool," and the latter, <y, " in sandy 

 ground in Ireland." It would be satisfactory to ascertain if the 

 seeds of our common field plant are constant in their colour, 

 form, and width of margin. 



