QQ CARYOPHYLLEjE. [Sagina. 



* Flowers 4- rarely 5-merous. Petals minute. 



1. S. apet'ala, L. ; annual, primary and lateral shoots all flowering, 

 radical leaves sub-rosulate, petals minute or 0. 



Dry banks, wall tops, &c. ; fl. May-Aug. — A slender, wiry herb, 4-10 in. 



Leaves T J 5 -j in. Flowers ^ in. diam., green, pedicels capillary. — Distrib. 



Europe, N. Africa, "W". Asia ; doubtfully indigenous in the U. States. 

 S. apet'ala proper ; branches ascending, leaves ciliate at the base mucronate, 



pedicels erect, sepals at length spreading obtuse exceeding the capsule. — 



From Perth and Forfar southd. ; rare in Scotland ; Ireland ; Channel 



Islands. 

 Sub-sp. S. cilia'ta, Fries ; decumbent, glandular-pubescent, leaves 'more or 



less ciliate mucronate, sepals always appressed to the capsule 2 outer 



mucronate. S. ambigua, Lloyd. — From Aberdeen southd., Ireland and 



Channel Islands ; rather rare. 

 Sub-sp. S. marit'ima, Don ; decumbent or ascending, glabrous, leaves obtuse 



or apiculate, sepals suberect in fruit broad obtuse. — *S. marit'ima proper ; 



ascending, slender, internodes long, capsule about equal to the sepals. 



Sandy sea-shores, 'N. to Shetland, Ireland and Channel Islands. — Vat?. 



S. deb'ilis, Jord. ; decumbent, slender, internodes long, capsule a little 



shorter than the sepals. — Var. S. den'sa, Jord. ; tufted, slender, internodes 



short, capsule as in deb'ilis. Christchurch, Hants, and "VVisbeach. — Var. 



alpi'na, Syme ; ascending, stoutish, internodes short, capsule shorter than 



the sepals. Top of Ben Nevis, Don. 



2. S. procum'bens, L. ; perennial, stems many, primary shoot flower- 

 less, lateral slender with fascicled branchlets usually procumbent and 

 rooting, petals very small. 



Waste places, paths, banks, &c. ; ascends to 3,800 ft. in the Highlands ; 

 Ireland ; Channel Islands ; fl. May-Sept. — Branches 1-8 in. Leaves glabrous 

 or ciliate (var. spino'sa, Bab.), obtuse, mucronate, longer than in S. apet'ala. 

 Flowers usually solitary, sometimes 5-merous. Sejmls spreading in fruit. 

 Styles recurved during flowering. Capsule a little longer than the sepals, 

 pedicels erect or curved at the tip. — Distrib. Europe (Arctic), N. Africa, 

 N. and W. Asia to the Himalaya, Greenland, N. America, Fuegia. 



** Flowers 5- rarely A-merous. Petals as long as the sepals or longer. 

 (Perennial, with a leafy jlowerless central stem, many lateral Jioioering 

 branches, minute subulate leaves, and slender erect 1-Jlowered pedicels. 

 Spergella, Reichb.) 



3. S. Linnse'i, Presl; glabrous, leaves mucronate, petals longer than 

 the glabrous obtuse sepals, capsule 5-valved almost twice as long as the 

 usually appressed sepals. 



Alps of Perth and Forfar to Sutherland ; ascends to 2,700 ft. ; fl. June- Aug.— 

 Distinguishable from the 5-merous forms of S. procum'bens only by the 

 longer white petals, erect styles, and usually longer capsules with appressed 

 sepals. — Distrib. Arctic and Alpine Europe, Siberia, N. America. 



S. Linxjf/i proper ; branches many prostrate rooting, pedicels curved erect in 

 fruit. S. saxat'ilis, Wimm. \Sper'gula saginoi'des, Sm. 



Sub-sp. S. niva'lis, Fries; densely tufted, leaves broader, pedicels always 

 erect, petals shorter. — Ben Lawers, Skye, and Clova Mountains. 



