52 FLOWERING PLANTS OF THE RIVIERA 



S. nutans L. Nodding Catch-fly. Plant hairy, 18 in. high, springing fiom 

 an almost woody stock. Lower leaves oblong-spathulate, upper ones sublinear. 

 Calyx oblong, slightly club-shaped. Flowers white or pinkish, drooping, in a 

 long loose, unilateral raceme. Capsule small, ovate conical, rather longer than 

 calyx, on a short carpophore. 



Dry hill-sides and slopes, May-July Local. Esterel, St. Martin Lantosque, 

 Col du Lentisque near St. Raphael, etc. 



S. inaperta L., S. laeta A. Br., and S. brachypoda Rony, are also 

 found. 



*** Petals with scales at the throat ; capsule on a carpophore at least as long as it. 



S. sericea .<4 //. (Plate VIII). An annual plant covered with greyish silky 

 hairs. Stems slender, prostrate or ascending. Leaves small and fleshy, the 

 lower ones spathulate, the upper linear. Calyx very long, enlarged towards top. 

 Petals bifid, pink or white, with large bifid scales at throat. Flowers solitary, 

 on long peduncles. Capsule ovate, shorter than the downy carpophore. 



Sea-shore and sandy places near the sea. May-July. Abundant between 

 Ventimiglia and Bordighera and elsewhere in Liguria. 



S. nicseensis All. A biennial, hairy-glandular species. Leaves fleshy, 

 usually covered with sand ; lower ones linear oblong, upper ones linear acute. 

 Flowers white above, greenish or livid below, in unilateral spikes or racemes. 

 Calyx club-shaped, with obtuse teeth. Capsule ovate-oblong, as long as its 

 carpophore. 



Sandy sea-shore. April-June. Sometimes abundant. 



S. Saxifraga L. Stem prostrate or ascending, 4-6 in. high, grass-green like 

 the leaves, 1-2 flowered. Leaves narrow linear, acute, rough at the edge, with nar- 

 rowed connate bases. Calyx turbinate, 10 nerved, glabrous, erect, pale green or 

 brownish, teeth rather obtuse. Flowers white or pink within, greenish-red 

 without. 



Rocks* in calcareous mountains. May-July. Mt. Faron, etc., above Toulon, 

 La Sainte-Baume, Ampus, above Mentone, etc. 



S. muscipula L. (Plate VIII). An annual glabrous species 12-18 in. high, 

 very viscous in upper part. Lower leaves obovate-obtuse, upper ones linear- 

 lanceolate, acute. Flowers subsessile, bright rose, in a loose dichotomous cyme. 

 Petals small, bifid. Calyx oblong, glabrous, 10 nerved, with acute teeth. Capsule 

 oblong, two or three times as long as the downy carpophore. 



In crops and dry slopes. May-July. Local. Antibes, Cannes, Carqueiranne, 

 etc. The specimen figured was gathered by Mr. Sowerby near Eze, n May, 

 1885. 



S. Armeria L. An annual glabrous glaucous plant, a foot high, viscous 

 above. Leaves oval- lanceolate, acute, heart-shaped below and embracing the 

 stem. Flowers red, attractive but small, numerous, in a dense dichotomous 

 corymb. Calyx elongated club-shaped, reddish, 10 nerved, glabrous. Capsule 

 oblong, as long as the carpophore. 



Crops and rocky places in the mountains of Alpes-Marit. June-July. 



SAPONARIA L. 



S. off icinalis L. Soapwort. A stout glabrous plant, 2-3 ft. high. Leaves 

 large, oblong- lanceolate. Calyx cylindrical, 15-20 nerved. Flowers pale pink, 

 large and attractive, sweet-scented, shortly peduncled, in a compact cyme. 



Hedges and borders of'streams. June-August. 



S. Vaccaria L. = Vaccaria parviflora Mcench. An annual glabrous and 

 glaucous weed, 12-18 in. high. Stem branched, leafy. Leaves oblong-lanceolate, 

 sessile, i nerved. Flowers bright pink, on long peduncles, in a loose dichotomous 

 cyme. Calyx ovoid, 5-winged, with triangular teeth. Petals with short limb, 

 emarginate. Capsule ovoid, with very short carpophore. 



Crops and waste places. May-June. 



