CARYOPHYLLACE^E. (PINK FAMILY.) 47 



1. S. Americana, Torr. & Gray. Stems prostrate, diffuse, pubescent in 

 lines; leaves lanceolate, nan-owed at the base; the radical ones larger and 

 crowded ; flowers obovate, solitary in the forks of the stem, and clustered at the 

 end of the branches ; sepals rounded and incurved at the apex, the tube bristly 

 with hooked hairs; petals minute. (Herniaria Americana, Nutt. Paronychia 

 urceolata, Shuttl) Sandy banks of rivers, Florida to South Carolina, and 

 westward. June -Oct. (1) or (2) Stems l-3 long. Leaves sometimes 

 falcate and incmsted with brownish particles. Stipules small. 



2. S. diffusa, n. sp. Pubescent; stems prostrate, diffusely-branched; leaves 

 lanceolate, obtuse, narrowed at the base ; flowers small, in compact, rectangular 

 cymes, terminating all the branches ; sepals linear, slightly concave and mucro- 

 nate at the apex, the tube bristly with hooked hairs; petals bristle-like. Dry 

 sandy pine barrens, Florida. June -Oct. Stems I 6 long. Stipules con- 

 spicuous, on young plants half as long as the leaves, at length 2-parted. Cymes 

 very numerous. 



3. S. erecta, n. sp. Stems smooth, clustered, erect, rigid, mostly simple ; 

 leaves erect, linear, acute, pubescent on the margins, those of the barren stems 

 imbricated ; cyme compound, rectangular, fastigiate, compact ; sepals lanceolate, 

 smooth, acutish, or obscurely mucronate at the apex, the tube smooth and fur- 

 rowed; petals bristle-like, half as long as the stamens. Sands along the west 

 coast of Florida. June -Nov. y. Root woody. Stems 6' -12' high. Stip- 

 ules half as long as the leaves. 



4. S. Rugelii. Annual ; stem erect, successively forking, clothed with a 

 short and rather dense pubescence, as also the leaves and bracts ; leaves oblance- 

 olate, abruptly pointed, shorter than the internodes, the upper ones linear ; stip- 

 ules 4 - J as long as the leaves, soon 2 - 4-parted ; cymes numerous, terminal, 

 rather loosely flowered ; calyx-tube short, pubescent, the linear-lanceolate divis- 

 ions conspicuously mucronate, white ; petals bristle-like ; style included. (Pa- 

 ronychia Eugelii, Shuttl.) East Florida. Stems 1 high, at length diffuse ? 



4. STIPTJLICIDA, Michx. 



Sepals 5, emarginate, white-margined. Petals 5, spatulate, 2-toothcd near 

 the base, longer than the sepals, withering-persistent. Stamens 3, opposite the 

 inner sepals. Style very short, 3-parted. Capsule 1 -celled, 3-valved, many- 

 seeded. A small perennial, with an erect forking stem. Stem-leaves minute, 

 subulate, with adnate pectinate stipules. Radical leaves spatulate, clustered, 

 growing from a tuft of bristly stipules. Flowers white, in terminal clusters. 



1. S. setacea, Michx. Low sandy pine barrens, Florida to North Caro- 

 lina. April -June. Stem 3' - 6' high, the branches spreading and curving. 



5. SPERGULARIA, Pers. 



Sepals 5. Petals 5, oval, entire. Stamens 2-10. Styles 3-5. Capsule 

 3 - 5-valved ; the valves when o, alternate with the sepals. A low maritime 

 herb, with opposite fleshy leaves, and conspicuous scarious stipules. Flowers 

 axillary, solitary, rose-colored. 



