COIIRIGIOLA.] PARONYCHIE.E. 65 



small or 0. Stamens hypogynous or perigynous, filaments short free or 

 connate ; anthers small. Disk or annular. Ovary free, sessile, ovoid, 

 1 -celled ; style terminal, 2- rarely 3-fid, stigmas decurrent ; ovule 1, erect 

 or pendulous from a basal ftmicle. Utricle or achene enclosed in the 

 perianth, 1 -seeded. Seed glohose reniform or lenticular, testa smooth, 

 hilum frontal or lateral, albumen copious or scanty, floury ; embryo 

 straight curved or annular. DISTRIB. All latitudes, but chiefly warm and 

 dry ; genera 17 ; species 60. AFFINITIES. Very close to Caryophyllece and 

 Amaranthacece. PROPERTIES unimportant. 



Leaves alternate. Petals 5. Stigmas 3 1. Corrigiola. 



Leaves when opposite not connate. Sepals green, obtuse 2. Herniaria. 



Leaves opposite. Sepals white, concave with long points 3. Illecebrum. 



Leaves opposite connate at the base 4. Scleranthus. 



1. CORRIGI'OLA, L. STRAPWORT. 



Annual or perennial prostrate glabrous herbs. Leaves alternate, linear 

 or oblong ; stipules scarious. Flowers minute. Sepals 5, connate at the 

 base, obtuse ; margins membranous. Petals 5, small, white. Stamens 5, 

 perigynous. Ovary ovoid, style short, 3-partite ; ovule suspended from a 

 basal funicle. Achene crustaceous, 3-gonous, dotted or rugose. Testa mem- 

 branous ; embryo annular. DISTRIB. Europe, Africa, temp. S. America; 

 species 3-4. ETYM. The classical name for Polygonum, transferred. 



1. C. littora'lis, L. ; leaves linear-lanceolate, stipules 4 -sagittate. 

 Sandy places, Helstone, Cornwall ; Slapton sands ne^r Start Point ; fl. July- 

 Sept. Annual. Stems many from the root, 4-8 in., slender, prostrate or 

 ascending. Leaves %-% in., narrowed into an obscure petiole ; stipules small. 

 Flo'i-f-rs in crowded terminal cymes. Petals as long as the sepals. DISTRIB. 

 Europe from Denmark southwards. 



2. HERNIARIA, L. RUPTUREWORT. 



Annual or perennial prostrate herbs. Leaves opposite and alternate, 

 narrow. Flowers minute, green, crowded, axil large, 1-2-sexual. Sepals 

 4-5, connate at the base, obtuse, equal or unequal. Petals 4-5, setaceous, 

 minute or 0. Stamens 3-5, inserted on an annular disk. Ovary ovoid ; 

 style 2-fid or -partite ; ovule erect. Utricle indehiscent. Seed subglobose 

 or reuiform, testa crustaceous shining; embryo annular. DISTRIB. Europe, 

 N. and S. Africa, W. Asia. ETYM. the classical name. 

 1. H. gla'bra, L. ; leaves oblong glabrous or ciliate. 



Sandy soils, rare, Lincoln, Norfolk, Suffolk, Cambridge ; fl. July-Aug. Root 

 woody, often perennial. Steins 4-6 in., many, prostrate, tufted, glabrous or 

 slightly pubescent. Leaves -| in. DISTRIB. Europe, Siberia, W. Asia. 

 Probably a var. of //. hirsuta, L., a more southern and eastern plant. 

 VAR. cilia' ta, Bab. (sp.) ; perennial, stouter, forming larger tufts, leaves 

 broader, stipules larger whiter. Lizard Point, Guernsey. Syme remarks 

 that this var. keeps its green colour during the winter of Middlesex, which 

 H. glaln-a proper does not. 



3. ILLECEBRUM, /.. 



A small diffuse glabrous annual herb. Le,aves opposite. Flovxrs minute, 

 white, crowded in all the axils, 1-2-sexual. Sepals 5, white, corky, corn- 



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