92 CARYOPHYLLACEAE (CHICK-WEED FAMILY) 



LYCHNIS (COCKLE) 



Perennial. Calyx ovoid to clavate, lo-veined, usually inflated, 5-toothed. 

 Petal blade entire or variously lobed or cleft. Stamens 10. Ovary i-celled, 

 partly 4~5-celled at base. (Gk. lychnos = a lamp or light ; referring to 

 the flamelike color of some species.) 



A. Plant white-woolly; calyx teeth twisted; petals exserted, spreading above the 



calyx. W. E. L. coronaria (MULLEIN PINK) 



AA. Plant ashy-puberulent to glabrous; calyx teeth not twisted; petals not or very 



little spreading above the calyx. 



B. Plant dwarf, caespitose; stems i-flowered; petals exserted. E. L. kingii 



BB. Plant 2-5 dm. high, erect; stems few-flowered; petals included or nearly so. 



W. E. L. drummondii (DRUMMOND PINK) 



SAPONARIA (SOAPWORT) 



Annual or perennial, glabrous, diffuse or erect. Leaves wide. Flowers 

 white or pink or red. Calyx ovoid to tubular, 5-toothed. Petals entire 

 or emarginate. Stamens 10. Ovary i-celled. Capsule ovoid or oblong, 

 opening by 4 valves which appear as apical teeth. (L. sapo = soap ; the 

 mucilaginous juice lathers with water.) 



A. Annual, dichotomously branched; calyx sharply s-angled, 1-15 mm. long, oblong 

 or ovate. W. E. S. vaccaria (cow HERB) 



AA. Perennial, not dichotomously branched; calyx terete, 16-21 mm. long, tubular. 

 E. S. officinalis 



STELLARIA (CHICK WEED) 



Annual, tufted, low. Flowers either solitary in the leaf axils or else in 

 cymes. Sepals 4-5. Petals none or white. Stamens 10 or fewer, hypogy- 

 nous. Ovary i -celled; styles usually 3, usually opposite the sepals. 

 Capsule globose to oblong ; valves usually 6. Seeds several to many. 

 (L. stella = a star ; referring to the star-shaped flowers.) 



A. Lower leaves petiolate. 



B. Pubescence of stem scattered; styles 5; petals always present. W. 



S. aquatica (WATER CHICKWEED) 



BB. Pubescence of stem a line of hairs; styles 3-4; petals always present. W. E. 



S. media (COMMON CHICKWEED) 



BBB. Pubescence of stem none except at base; styles 3-4; petals sometimes none. 

 W. C. E. S. nitens (SHINING CHICKWEED) 



AA. Leaves all sessile or nearly so. 



C. Petals bifid to the middle or less, always present. 



D. Stem smooth except for a puberulent line. E. S. oxyphylla 

 DD. Stem glandular-pubescent at least above. E. S. jamesiana 



CC. Petals bifid nearly to the base. 



E. Inflorescence bracts small, scarious. 



F. Petals equaling or exceeding the calyx, always present. 



G. Cymes few-flowered; pedicels erect. W. C. E. S. longipes 



GG. Cymes diffuse; pedicels spreading. 



H. Leaves lanceolate, widest near the base; seed rough under hand lens. W. E. 



S. gram in ea 



