208 DECANDRIA PENTAOYNIA. QcL. X. 



5. L. vespertina. White Campion. Corn Lychnis. Flowers dioecious ; 

 petals cleft, crowned with four teeth ; capsule one-celled, conical ; leaves 



between oblong and lance-shaped. Stem from eighteen inches to three 



feet high : panicle terminal, many-flowered ; petals somewhat leathery, 

 white. The flowers emit a pleasant odour in the evening. This and the 

 preceding are considered by most botanists as forming only one species. 

 Perennial : flowers from June to September : grows in corn-fields and 

 waste places: not common. Eng. Bot. vol. zxii. pi. 1583. L. diolca, 

 var. /3. Eng. Fl. vol.ii. p. 328. 710. 



19. CERA'STIUM. MOUSE-EAR CHICK-WEED. 



Calyx inferior, of five egg-shaped, acute, permanent leaves, 

 membranous at the edges. Petals five, divided, obtuse, about the 

 length of the calyx. Filaments thread-like, generally ten, some- 

 times five or four ; alternate one shorter j anthers roundish, two- 

 lobed. Germen egg-shaped, superior, sessile. Styles five, rarely 

 four only, short ; stigma bluntish, downy. Capsule thin, egg- 

 shaped or cylindrical, one-celled. Seeds numerous, roundish, 

 rough. Name from ceras, a horn, on account of the curved cap- 

 sules of some species. 239. 



1. C. vulgdtum. Broad-leaved Mouse-ear Chick-weed. Leaves egg- 

 shaped, hairy ; petals as long as the calyx ; flowers longer than their 



stalks. Root fibrous, small : stems numerous, from four to six inches 



long: leaves and stems hairy and pale-green: capsule twice as long as 

 the calyx, cylindrical. Annual : flowers in the summer months : grows 

 in fields and waste ground : common. Eng. Bot. vol. xi. pi. 789. Eng. 

 Fl. vol. ii. p. 330. 711. 



2. C. viscosum. Narrow-leaved Mouse-ear Chick-weed. Leaves be- 

 tween oblong and lance-shaped, hairy ; flowers shorter than their stalks. 



Roots fibrous, small : stems numerous, from four to eight inches 



long: leaves and stems hairy, dark-green, and clammy. Perennial: 

 flowers during the summer months : grows in fields and waste grounds : 

 common. Eng. Bot. vol. xi. pi. 790. Eng. Fl. vol. ii. p. 331. 712. 



3. C. semidtcandrwn. Small Mouse-ear Chick-weed. Leaves egg- 

 shaped, inclining to oblong ; petals slightly cleft ; stamens five. 



Stem generally branched, spreading at the base, three or four inches 

 high : leaves and stems hairy, very clammy, and generally covered with 

 particles of sand and dust. Annual : flowers in April and May : grows 

 in sandy ground, and on walls: common. Eng. Bot. vol. xxiii. pi. 1630. 

 Eng. Fl. vol.ii. p. 331. 713. 



4. C. tetrdndrum. Tetrandrout Mouse-ear Chick-weed. Leaves 

 broadly elliptical ; petals four, inversely heart-shaped, shorter than the 



four-leaved calyx ; stamens four. Stems procumbent, from two to five 



inches long, forked : flower-stalks nearly thrice the length of the calyx : 

 the whole plant hairy and somewhat clammy. Annual : flowers in May 

 and June : grows in sandy pastures and waste grounds, and on walls : 

 common. Eng. Bot. vol. iii. pi. 166 : Sagina cerastoides. Eng. Fl. vol. ii. 

 p. 332. 714. 



5. C. arvtnse. Field Mouse-ear Chick-weed. Leaves narrow Jance- 

 shaped, fringed at the base; petals twice the length of the calyx. 



