880 CARYOPHYLLACEAE (PIXK FAMILY) 



seeded. — Low usuallj^ tufted herbs, with sessile exstipulate leaves and small 

 white flowers. (Name from arena^ sand, in which many of the species grow. ) 



— The following sections are by many botanists taken for genera. 



§ 1. MOEHRfXGIA (L.) Fries. Ocary at first '^-celled ; seeds few, smooth, 

 with a thickish appendage at the hiluni ; perennials with hroadish leaves. 



1. A. lateriflora L. Sparingly branched, minutely pubescent ; leaves oval 

 or oblong, obtuse (1-2 cm. long) ; peduncles 2(rarely ;:>-4)-flowered, soon be- 

 coming lateral ; sepals oblong, obtuse. {Moehringia Fenzl.) — Gravelly shores, 

 thickets, etc., Nfd. to Pa., Mo., and north w. May. June. (En.) 



2. A. macrophylla Hook. Similar; leaves lance-oblong, acute; sepals 

 lanceolate, acuminate. (Moehringia Torr.) — N. Guilford and Durham, Ct. 

 (6r. H. Bartlett, Harger), Vt., Lab., L. Superior, and north westw. 



§2. AMMODEXIA (Patrin) B. & H. Styles, cells of the ovary and valves of 

 the fleshy pod 8, rarely 4 or o ; seeds few, smooth, short-beaked at the naked 

 hilum ; disk under the ovary more prominent than usual, glandular, 10- 

 lobed ; flowers almost sessile in the axils, sometimes dioecious or polyga- 

 mous ; perennial. 



3. A. peploides L. Stems (simple or forking from long rootstocks) and 

 ovate partly clasping leaves (1.5-2 cm. long) very fleshy. (^Ammodenia Rupr.) 



— Sea-shore, N. J. to Me. and north w. June. (Eu.) 



§ 3. ARENARIA proper. Pod splitting wholly or part way down into 3 or at 

 length 6 valves; seeds many^ naked at the hilum. 



4. A. serpyllif6lia L. (Thyme-leaved S.) Roughish-pubescent or pu- 

 berulent, 5-15 cm. high ; leaves ovate, small, acute ; cymes leafy ; sepals lanceo- 

 late, pointed, 3-5-nerved, about equaling the petals ; capsule flask-shaped, of 

 firm texture. — Sandy or rocky soil, chiefly about towns. June-Aug. (Nat. 

 from Eu.) 



5. A. LEPTOCLADOS Guss. Similar to the preceding; leaves lanceolate; 

 cymes nearly naked ; capsule subcylindric, papery. (A. serpyllifolia, var. ten- 

 uior Koch.) — Locally, Me. to Mich. (Farwell), and westw. (Adv. from Eu.) 



§ 4. ALSINE (Gaertn.) B. & H. Pod splitting to the base into 3 entire valves ; 

 seeds many, usually rough, naked at the hilum ; flowers terminal or cy- 

 rnose ; leaves linear or subulate. 



Sepals lanceolate, acuminate. 



Lateral nerves o»' the leaves none or much smaller than the midnerve. 



Petals retuse &. A. jiatula. 



Petals entire. 

 Capsule longer and petals shorter than the sepals . . . . 1. A. litorea. 

 Capsule shorter and petals much longer than the sepals . . . 8. ^. siricta. 



Leaves with 3 nearly equal nerves 9. ^. vernaf v. propinqua. 



Sepals obtuse or obtusish, inconspicuously veined, not nerved. 



Leaves rigid, pungent : petals entire 10. A. caroliniana. 



Leaves soft, herbaceous ; petals usually retuse 11. A. groenlandiea. 



0. A. patula Michx. Diffusely branched from a slender root; stems 5- 

 30 cm. long ; Ijranches of the cyme divergent ; peduncles long ; sepals 3-5-nerved. 



— Ky. to n. Ill , Minn., and southw. to Tex. and Fla. 



7. A. litbrea Fernald. Perennial, densely tufted; stems several to many, 

 6-14 cm. high, leafy chiefly toward the base ; leaves firm, subulate, commonly 

 proliferous in the axils ; sepals 3-nerved ; capsule 5 mm. long, well exserted at 

 maturity. — Gravelly beaches and calcareous bluffs, e. Que. ; and north shore of 

 L. Superior (Loring, G. S. Miller). 



H. A. striata .Michx. Erect or diffusely spreading from a small root, smooth ; 

 leaves slender, betv^een awl-shaped and bristle-form, with many others clustered 

 in the axils; cyme diffuse, naked, many-flowered ; sepals H-i'ibbed, ovate. (A. 

 Mirhauxii Hook, f.) — Hocks and dry wooded banks, Mt. Washington, N. II 

 {Manning) ; Vt. to S. C, Minn., westw. and southwestw, July. 



