144 



Plants of the Punjab. 



Herbs, Erect, with Opposite Exstipulate Simple Leaves, 



Leaf Margins Entire. 



Silene arenosa, 



CARYOPHYLLACEiB. 



F.B.Li. 219. 



The Plains. 

 N.-W. F. Province. 

 Peshawar. 

 Attock. 

 Bakichistan. 



Petals ununited. 



small, annual, slender, bluish-green, sticky, much 

 branched from the root, velvety, leaves f-l| in. long, 

 stiff, narrow, long-pointed, margins rolled up, flowers | 

 in. long in few-flowered widely dividing clusters, stalks 

 |-1 in. long, thread-like, calyx |-| in. long, club-shaped, 

 slender, 10-ribbed, base pushed inwards, teeth with thin 

 papery margins, petals with the blade divided, lobes 

 linear, stalk with a tooth on each side, scales 2, small, 

 lanceolate, capsule oblong, the atjle stalk equal to the 

 capsule ; for other characters see the last species. The 

 flowers open at night. 



Silene tenuis, 



Caryophyllace^. 

 F.B.Li. 219. 

 Himalaya, 

 8-12,000 ft. 



small, perennial, smooth or sticky with glands, 

 many stems from the root, slender, unbranched, leaves 

 1-3 in., short- or long-pointed, narrow, linear or lanceolate, 

 often with scattered hairs, flat, radical leaves slightly 

 broadened upwards, flowers | in. long, dirty yellow or 

 brown, often in a circle in short racemes, stalks |-J in., 

 bracts short, in a circle, awl-shaped, calyx bell-shaped, 

 ^-| in., thin, base rounded or abrupt, 10-nerved, teeth 

 blunt, spreading, petals divided, stalk with 2 teeth, 

 hairy, scales short, oblong, capsule oblong, seeds with 

 5 dorsal and lateral rows of tubercles ; other characters 

 like the last species. 



Silene Griffithii, 



Caryophyllace^. 

 F. B. I. i. 220. 

 Himalaya, 

 7-11,000 ft. 



medium size, perennial, stout, velvety or hairy, 

 stems divided or not ; leaves 2^-4 by f-1^ in., radical leaves 

 lanceolate with a broad tip ending in a broad stock, 

 stem leaves oblong, sessile, velvety on both surfaces, 

 flowers white, in opposite axillary irregularly 3-flowered 

 clusters, shortly stalked, calyx |-1 in. long, cylindric, 

 barely dilated above except in fruit, teeth short-pointed, 

 not bordered with white, nerves 10, green, base rounded 

 or abrupt, petals deeply 2-lobcd, lobes divided into 3-6 

 parts, no scales, no teeth on stalks of petals, capsule oblong, 

 ovary shortly stalked, seeds minute, sides flat or convex, 

 back grooved ; other characters like the last species. This 

 plant is used in Lahoul with an alkali as a substitute for 

 soap. 



