ALSINE^. (CHICKWEED FAMILY.) 151 



9. A. Smitliii, Fenzl. .1 to .15, glandular- villous ; stems 

 thickish, stifl, irregularly forked. Leaves linear-lanceolate, 5-7-nerved. 

 Cymes loosely clustered, axillary, few-flowered ; pedicels half as long 

 as .007 long calyx, at length spreading or nodding ; sepals unequal, 3- 

 nerved, lanceolate, acute ; petals ovate or oblong, one-third to one- 

 fourth as long as calyx ; capsule shorter than calyx — May and June 

 — Fields ; Hauran to Palmyra, Hamath, Lebanon, Antilebanon, and 

 northward. 



10. A. decipiens, Fenzl. 0.1 to .15, pruinose, viscid, dif- 

 fusely forked. Leaves linear, 5-7-nerved. Cymes clustered, farked, 

 axillary and terminal ; flowers nearly sessile ; calyx conical, truncate 

 at base, strongly gibbous ; petals nearly equal, lanceolate, acute, half 

 as long as the .004 long calyx ; capsule shorter than calyx — April to 

 September — Dry places ; Moab and Carmel to Palmyra, Amanus, Ain- 

 tab, and northward. 



11. A, intermedia, Boiss. Stems simple, crisp-hairy. 

 Leaves linear-lanceolate, ciliate, somewhat 5-nerved at base. Cymes 

 nearly sessile, axillary, minute, forming a sJiort, clustered raceme ; floral 

 leaves longer than flowers ; calyx truncate, gibbous at base, with un- 

 equal, 3-nerved, lanceolate-acuminate sepals ; petals minute^ oblong ; 

 capsule two-thirds as long as calyx — Spring — Jebel Nahhas, near 

 Aleppo. 



12. A. tenuifolia, L. .05 to .2, glabrous or glandular-hairy, 

 dichotomously panicled. Leaves awl-shaped. Sepals lanceolate, acute, 

 3-nerved ; petals ovate-oblong, tapering at base ; stamens 3-10 ; cap- 

 sule conico-cylindrical, rarely ovate, often longer than calyx — Spring 

 ^Common throughout. Varies greatly in aspect. 



Var. maeropetala, Boiss. Like type, but calyx somewhat 

 hairy ; petals as long as sepals or longer ; anthers often violet-colored ; 

 capsule as long as calyx. 



Var. mucronata, Boiss. Cymes contracted ; flowers crowded ; 

 pedicels short ; sepals hairy, acuminate, sometimes with oblique tip ; 

 stamens generally 5 ; petals much shorter than calyx or 0. 



Var. viseosa, Boiss. Stiff, more or less glandular ; flowers 

 smaller ; stamens generally 5 ; capsule nearly as long as calyx. 



13. A. thyiiiifolia, Sibth. et Sm. .04 to .05, glabrescentf 

 stems simple, densely forked, corymbose-cymose. Leaves short, fleshy, 

 Unear-sjjathulate, obtuse, 3-nerved at base. Calyx once and a half to 

 twice as long as pedicels, obovate-oNong, acute, 3-nerved, glabrous, with 

 a narrow, white margin ; petals ovate, somewhat longer than calyx ; 

 stamens 10 ; capsule ovate, somewhat longer than calyx — Spring. 



Var. Syriaea, Boiss. Inflorescence hairy — Ras Beirut. 



1 1 Sepals heeled, 1-nerved. Leaves setaceous. 



14. A. picta, Sibth. et Sm. .05 to .15, glandular ; densely 

 leafy at lase ; stems filiform, erect, dichotomous. Cymes long-ped- 

 uncled, diffuse, scarious-bracted ; pedicels twice to thrice as long as 

 calyx, at length reflexed ; sepals glabrous, ovate, ohtuse, scarious-mar- 

 gined ; petals pink, striate, obovate, retuse, twice and a half as long as 



