O.rastium.] CARYOPHYLLEjE. 59 



often tubercled ; embryo annular. — Distrib. All temp, and cold regions ; 

 species 40. — Etym. Kepas, from the hor?i-like capsule. 



Section 1. MoencWia, Ehrh. (gen.). Sepals acuminate, longer than 

 the entire petals. 



1. C. quarternel'lum, Fenzl ; glabrous, glaucous, stamens 4. Mcsnch'ia 

 erec'ta, Ehrh. 



Gravelly pastures, &c, from the Cheviots southd. ; ascends to 1,200 ft. in 

 Wales ; Ireland ; Channel Islands ; fi. May-June. — Annual. Stems 2-6 in., 

 dichotomously branched from the base ; branches slender, stiff. Leaves 1 

 in., radical sublanceolate ; cauline few, shorter, broader. Flowers few ; pedi- 

 cels long, erect, stiff. Sepals 4, j in. ; margins broad, membranous, white. 

 Petals 4, shorter than the sepals, oblong. Styles 4, short. Capsule subcylin- 

 dric, as long as the sepals, 8-toothed. — Distrib. W. Europe from Holland 

 to Hungary, N. Africa ; introd. in the U. States. 



Section 2. Ceras'tium proper. Petals notched 2-fid, or erose. 



* Annual rarely perennial, hairy and viscid except t C triviale. Sepals 4-5, about 

 as long as the petals. (Perhaps all sub-species of one.) 



2. C. tetran'drum, Curtis ; sepals viscid, pedicels usually erect when 

 fruiting 2-3 times as long as the capsule, bracts herbaceous, sepals 4 rarely 

 5 lanceolate, glandular margins narrowly membranous, capsule straight. 

 C. atrovi'rens, Bab. 



Sandy and waste places usually near the sea, N. to the Shetlands ; Ireland ; 

 Channel Islands ; fl. April-Oct. — Stem 4-12 in. dichotomously branched 

 from the base, Radical leaves obovate-lanceolate, cauline usually broader 

 upwards. Cymes leafy. Flowers J in. diam. Petals notched, veins branched. 

 Capsule scarcely longer than the sepals. — Distrib. W. Europe from Sweden 

 to Spain and eastwards to Hungary. 



Var. C. pu'milum, Curtis ; branching from above the middle, upper bracts 

 with narrow membranous margins, petals notched, veins branched, fruiting 

 pedicel short curved, capsule curved. C. glutino'sum, Fries.— Dry banks, 

 rare, Worcester to Devon, Surrey. 



3. C. semidecan'drum, L. ; pedicels a little exceeding, the sepals 

 deflexed between flowering and fruiting, bracts half-membranous, sepals 

 usually 5 glandular acute margins broadly membranous, capsule slightly 

 curved. 



Walls and banks, N. to Shetland ; ascends to 1,000 ft. in Yorkshire ; Ireland ; 

 Channel Islands; fl. March-May. — Stem 1-10 in., erect or decumbent, some- 

 times nearly glabrous, branched from the base. Leaves as in C. tetrandrum. 

 Cymes few- or many-fld. Petals erose, with simple veins, shorter than the 

 sepals. Stamens 4-5, or 10. Capsule exserted. — Distrib. Europe, N. 

 Africa. — The earliest to flower. 



4. C. glomera'tum, Thuillier ; fruiting pedicels suberect shorter than 

 the sepals, bracts all herbaceous, sepals acute with few glands and narrow 

 membranous margins, petals as long as the sepals 2-fid rarely 0, capsule 

 twice as long as the sepals curved. C. vulga'tum, L., and viseo'sum, L., 

 in part. 



