354 THE KINDS OF PLANTS 



2. SAPONARIA. Soapwort. 



Calyx cylindrical or angled, 5-toothed, with no bracts at its base: 

 stamens 10: styles 2: pod 4-toothed at top (Fig. 282). 



S. officinalis, Linn. Bouncing Bet. Perennial, forming colonies in old 

 yards and along roads, 1-2 ft. high, glabrous, with ovate or oval leaves: 

 flowers 1 in. across, white or rose, in dense clusters, often double, the petals 

 with a crown. Europe. Common. 



3. LYCHNIS. Lychnis. Cockle. 



Annual or perennial, with styles usually 5, and pod opening by 5 or more 

 teeth: calyx 5-toothed and 10- or more-nerved, naked at the base: stamens 10. 



L. Githago, Scop, (or Agrostemma Githago, Linn.). Fig. 181. Corn 

 cockle, because it is a common weed in wheat fields (wheat is known as 

 corn in Europe), its seeds not being readily separated from wheat because 

 of their similar size and its seasons corresponding with those of wheat: annual, 

 2-3 ft., hairy: flowers purple-red and showy, on very long stalks, the 

 petals crowned and the calyx-lobes long and leafy: leaves very narrow. 

 Europe. 



L. Coronaria, Desv. Dusty Miller. Mullein pink. Biennial or per- 

 ennial, white-woolly all over: leaves oblong: flowers rose-crimson, showy. 

 Europe. Old gardens and along roads. 



4. SILENE. Campion. Catchfly. 



Annual or perennial herbs, with white, pink, or red flowers, solitary or 

 in cymes: calyx often inflated, 5-toothed, 10- to many-nerved, with no 

 bracts at base; petals 5, clawed, sometimes with crown or scale at base of 

 blade; stamens 10; styles 3 (rarely 4 or 5); ovary 1-celled (or incompletely 

 2-4-celled): fruit a capsule, or pod, 1-celled or 3-celled at base, dehiscent by 

 3 or 6 teeth at apex, many-seeded. A viscid secretion covers the calyx and 

 stems of certain species, by which creeping insects are caught, whence the 

 name "catchfly." 



S. stellata, Ait. Starry campion. Perennial, 2-3 ft. high: leaves ovate- 

 lanceolate, acuminate, in whorls of 4 (at least the upper ones) : flowers in 

 panicled cymes; calyx bell-shaped, loose and inflated; petals fringed, 

 crownless, white. July. Open woods. 



S. latifolia, Britten & Rendle. Bladder campion. Perennial, 1-2 ft.: 

 leaves ovate-lanceolate, acute, opposite: flowers in panicles, inclined or 

 drooping: calyx globular, thin and much inflated, conspicuously veined; 

 petals 2-cleft, white. Roadsides, fields and waste places. Common eastward. 

 Naturalized from Europe. 



S. pennsylvanica Michx. Wild pink. Perennial, viscid-pubescent above, 

 4-10 in.: basal leaves spatulate or cuneate, narrowed into petioles; stem- 

 leaves lanceolate, sessile, opposite: flowers in terminal, few-flowered cymes; 

 calyx narrow; petals wedge-shaped, slightly emarginate (or eroded) on 

 edge, pink-red, crowned. In dry soil in eastern states. 



S. virginica, Linn. Fire pink. Perennial, 1-8 ft.: lower leaves thin, 

 spatulate, the cauline oblong or lanceolate, sessile: flowers few in a loose 



