280 ALSINACEAE 



perigynous. Ovary 1-celled, many-ovuled ; stigmas sessile. Capsule 3-valved. 

 Cotyledons accumbent. 



1. L. texana Hook. Annual, branched at the base, 5-15 cm. high; leaves 

 4-6 mm. long; flowers on secund recurved branches; sepals straight or slightly 

 curved; capsule shorter than the calyx; seeds obovate. Dry hills: Tex. Neb. 

 Plain. Ap-Je. 



FAMILY 45. CARYOPHYLLACEAE. PINK FAMILY. 



Herbs with narrow opposite leaves, without stipules, often connate at the 

 base. Flowers perfect, polygamous, or dioecious, cymose. Calyx of 5 or 

 4 united sepals. Petals 5 or 4, distinct, with a narrow claw, often .vith 

 scale-like appendages (the crown) at the junction of the claw with the blade. 

 Stamens usually twice as many as the sepals. Gynoecium of 2-5 united 

 carpels; styles 2-5. Fruit a 1-celled or partially 2-5-celled capsule, opening 

 by 2-5 valves at the apex. 



Calyx with at least twice as many ribs (usually 10) as calyx-teeth, running both into the 



teeth and the sinuses. 



Styles 5, alternate with the foliaceous calyx-lobes. 1. AGROSTEMMA. 



Styles either 5 and opposite the short calyx-lobes or fewer than 5. 



Styles mostly 3; capsule usually septate at the base. 2. SILENE. 



Styles 5; capsule 1-celled to the base. 3. WAHLBERGELLA. 



Calyx 5-angled or 5-ribbed. 



Petals with a crown; calyx not strongly angled. 4. SAPONARIA. 



Petals without a crown; calyx strongly 5-angled. 5. VACCARIA. 



1. AGROSTEMMA L. CORN COCKLE, CORN CAMPION. 



Annual pubescent herbs, with opposite leaves. Flowers solitary at the end 

 of the branches. Calyx oblong, not inflated, 10-ribbed, 5-lobed; lobes linear, 

 elongate and foliaceous. Petals 5, clawed, without appendages or crown; 

 blade obovate or cuneate, emarginate. Stamens 10. Styles 5, opposite the 

 petals. Capsule 1-celled. Seeds numerous. 



1. Agrostemma Githago L. Stem erect, 3-10 dm. high, densely pubescent; 

 leaves linear-lanceolate, erect, 5-10 cm. long; calyx-lobes 2-3 cm. long; petals 

 red; blade 1.5-2 cm. long. Waste places and grain fields: Newf. Fla. Calif. 

 B.C.; nat. from Eu. Jl-S. 



2. SILENE L. CATCHFLY, CAMPION. 



Annual or perennial herbs. Leaves opposite, flat, entire. Flowers perfect, 

 in terminal cymes, or rarely solitary. Calyx with a more or less inflated tube, 

 10-^many-nerved, with short, erect, or spreading lobes. Petals 5, red, pink, or 

 white, with a crown, and usually cleft or divided. Stamens 10. Ovary 1-celled, 

 but usually with partial partitions at the base. Styles 3, seldom more. Cap- 

 sule opening by twice as many tooth-like valves as there are styles. Ovary 

 with a more or less developed stipe. Seeds tuberculate or echinate. 



Annuals. 



Glabrous or nearly so, or the upper nodes glutinous. 1. S. antirrhina. 



Viscid-pubescent or hirsute throughout. 2. 5. noctiflora. 



Perennials. 



Calyx mostly 10-nerved, rarely strongly inflated in fruit, not constricted at the 



mouth. 

 Caulescent herbs, rather tall, not densely matted, with rootstocks. 



Inflorescence paniculate or thyrsoid at the end of the stem, not leafy; flowers 



more than 1 cm. long. 

 Blade of the petals 2-parted and cleft into 4-6 linear segments. 



3. S. oregana. 

 Blades of the petals bifid; each lobe sometimes with a lateral tooth. 



Blade small, scarcely exceeding the small appendages; plant viscid- 



tomentose. 4. S. Spaldingii. 



Blades conspicuous, much longer than the appendages; plant viscid- 



puberulent or glabrous. 



Stipe of the capsule over 5 mm. long; fruiting calyx distinctly con- 

 tracted below. 5. S. re-pens. 

 Stipe of the capsule short, less than 5 mm. long; calyx slightly if 

 at all contracted below. 



