206 SUMMER FLOWE11S. 



more or less viscid, loosely branched ; leaves oval-oblong, 

 usually pointed, the lower ones stalked ; flowers few, opening 

 in the evening, and then slightly scented, in loose panicles, 

 rather large, white, or rarely pale pink, usually dioecious ; 

 calyx softly hairy. Hedges, fields, and waste places. Fl. 

 June to September. 



** Calyx-lobes much longer than the petals. 



L. Githago : annual; stem 2-3 feet high, erect, simple or 

 slightly branched, clothed with long, whitish, appressed hairs ; 

 leaves long, narrow ; flowers on long leafless peduncles, rather 

 large, red, inodorous, remarkable for the long green linear 

 lobes of the calyx, the petals broad, undivided, and without 

 any scales at the base. Corn Cockle. Cornfields. Fl. June, 

 July. [See also p. 48.] 



(48) Sagina. PEARLWORT. 



S. nodosa: tufted, often flowering the first year; stems 

 numerous, decumbent, or nearly erect, 2-4 inches high, spa- 

 ringly branched; leaves small, subulate, those of the stem 

 much shorter, with little clusters of minute ones in their axils ; 

 flowers pedicellate, few on each stem, conspicuous, the white 

 obovate petals being twice as long as the calyx ; sepals obtuse ; 

 the parts of the flower usually in fives, with ten stamens. 

 Wet sandy places. Fl. July, August. 



(49) Alsine. 



A. tenuifolia : annual ; stem 3-4 inches high, slender, erect, 

 much branched, dichotomous, with the small white flowers in 

 the forks, glabrous or minutely downy ; leaves subulate ; 

 sepals narrow ; petals obovate or oblong, shorter than the calyx. 

 Dry sandy fields. Fl. June. 



