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FIELD AND WOODLAND PLANTS 



Coming next to the order Caryophyllacece we have to note two 

 of the Stitchworts or Starworts {Siellaria) — slender plants dis- 

 tinguished by their opposite, pointed leaves ; jointed stems ; and 

 little, white, starlike flowers. They have five sepals ; five petals, 

 deeply divided into two lobes; ten stamens; tliree styles; and a 

 capsular fruit that splits longitudinally, with many seeds. 



One of these is the 

 Glancous or Marsh Stitch- 

 wort {Stelkiria glauca or 

 S. pahstris), which is 

 widely distributed though 

 not very common. The 

 whole plant is slender, 

 with a foiu^-angled stem 

 from six to eighteen inches 

 high ; and narrow, sessile, 

 undivided leaves that 

 taper to a point. Its 

 flowers are soMtary on 

 axillary peduncles, from 

 half to tliree-quarters of 

 an inch in diameter, with 

 petals much longer than 

 the tlu-ee-veined sepals. 

 They first appear in April, 

 and continue to bloom 

 imtil August. 



The other is the Bog 

 Stitchwort {S. vliginosa) 

 — a smooth, slender plant, 

 with a spreading, four- 

 angled stem, and narrow- 

 ovate leaves that terminate in a stiff point. In marshy or boggy 

 groimd its stems are straggling, and often near a foot in length ; 

 but on drier soils tlaey are much shorter, and the plant more tufted. 

 The flowers are much smaller — only about a quarter of an inch in 

 diameter, and are arranged in loose, terminal cymes. Then- petals 

 are shorter than the sepals, and are very deeply divided into two 

 narrow spreading lobes. This species flowers during May and Jime. 

 The Rose family (Rosacea;) includes the Purple Marsh Cinque- 

 foil or Marsh Potentil [Comarum palustre or Potentilla palustris) — 



TUE AlAHSII I'OTENTIL. 



