144 



CARYOPHTLLACEAE (PINK FAMILY) 



FIG. 95. Ragged 

 Robin (Lychnis Flos- 

 cuculi). 



Stem one to two feet tall, erect, slender, 

 branching near the top, downy-hairy below, 

 somewhat clammy above. Basal and lower 

 leaves spatulate, tapering to a margined pet- 

 iole; upper leaves sessile, few, becoming very 

 small as they ascend the stalk. Flowers in 

 loose, spreading panicles ; those of plants cul- 

 tivated in gardens usually pink, white or blue, 

 but those of the wild plant usually magenta-red, 

 nearly an inch broad, each of the five petals 

 divided into four slender lobes, the middle 

 pair of lobes being longest, causing the flower 

 to have a ragged, fringy 

 look; calyx short, ten- 

 nerved, smooth. Capsule 

 nearly globular, one- 

 celled, many-seeded. 



Means of control the 

 same as for the Corn 

 Cockle. 



RED CAMPION 

 Lychnis diolca, L. 



Introduced. Biennial. Propagates by seeds. 

 Time of bloom: June to September. 

 Seed-time: July to October. 

 Range: Nova Scotia, Ontario, New England, 



and the Middle States. 

 Habitat: Grain fields, meadows, roadsides, 



and waste places. 



Stems one to tw r o feet tall, erect, clammy- 

 hairy particularly just below the swollen 

 joints, branching near the top. Basal leaves 

 oblong, pointed, long-petioled ; stem-leaves 

 sessile or the lower ones with short petioles, 



ovate, acute. Flowers in cymose clusters, FIG. 96. Red Campion 

 each nearly an inch broad, dioecious, without (Lychnis dioica). x i. 



