54 CARYOPHYLLEJE. [DIANTHUS. 



Flower 1 in. diam., fragrant. Petals contiguous, obovate, rosy, teeth f- 

 the length of the blade. Calyx-tube faintly-ribbed. DISTRIB. Belgium 

 southd. to Lombardy and Hungary. 



D. CARYOPHYI/LTJS, L. ; leaves grooved above, margins smooth, cymes 

 loosely panicled, bracts obovate mucronate 3-4 times shorter than the 

 calyx- tube, petals toothed and crenate. Wild Carnation, Clove Pink. 

 Old castle walls, &c., naturalized ; fl. July-Aug. Perennial, glabrous, glau- 

 cous, stout, much branched and leafy below, 18-24 in. Leaves 4-6 in., 

 recurved. Bracts membranous, tips herbaceous. Flower 1^ in. diam., 

 fragrant. Calyx cylindric, faintly ribbed. Petals obovate, rosy, teeth |-J 

 the length of the blade. Capsule ovoid. DISTRIB. Belgium and France to 

 Italy, Hungary, and Greece. Flowers dimorphic on the same individual ; 

 stamens in one form much longer than in the other. The origin of the 

 garden carnation. 



D. PLUMA'RIUS, L. ; leaves all acute 1 -nerved, margins scabrous, cymes 

 loosely panicled, bracts 4 rhomboid cuspidate equalling J of the calyx- 

 tube, petals fimbriate. Wild Pink. 



Naturalized on old walls in England and "Wales ; fl. June-Aug. Perennial, 

 tufted, branched, 1 ft. Flowers as in D. Caryophyllus, but smaller, rose- 

 purple, segments of petals -J as long as the blade. DISTRIB. Mid. 

 Europe from Austria to Lombardy, and Mid. Russia. The origin of the 

 garden pinks. 



1*. SAPONA'RIA, L. SOAPWORT, FULLER'S HERB. 



Annual or perennial herbs. Radical leaves spathulate, canline narrower. 

 Flowers in panicled or fascicled cymes, white, lilac, red or yellow, honeyed, 

 proterandrous. Calyx tubular, 5-toothed, obscurely nerved, ebracteate. 

 Petals 5, clawed, entire or notched. Stamens 1 0. Disk small. Styles 2. 

 Capsule oblong, 2-celled at the base, 4-valved at the top. Seeds reniform, 

 tubercled, hilum marginal ; embryo annular. DISTRIB. Europe and 

 temp. Asia ; species 30. ETYM. Sapo, the plant having been used as a 



SOap. 



S. OFFICINA^LIS, L. ; glabrous, glaucous, leaves oblong-lanceolate. 

 Hedges, roadsides, and fields, naturalized before Gerard's time ; (a denizen, 

 Wats.} ; fl. Aug.-Sept. Rootstock white, creeping, fleshy, stoloniferous. 

 Stem 1-3 ft., straight, ascending. Leaves 2-4 in., 3-ribbed. Cymes in panicled 

 corymbs. Flowers I in. diam. Petals obcordate, lilac or white. Capsule 

 ovoid, on a stout pedicel, enclosed in the fusiform calyx-tube. DISTRIB. 

 Europe, "W. Asia ; introd. in U. States. A decoction is very saponaceous. 

 Flowers often double. S. hyb'rida, L., is a var. with connate upper leaves 

 and monopetalous corolla. VXR. pubefula, Syme, is another with the upper 

 part of the stem and calyx pubescent. Near Hightown, Lancashire. 



2. SILE'NE, L. CATCHFLY. 



Habit of Saponaria. Calyx inflated, 5-toothed, 10-nerved. Petals 5 ; 

 claw narrow ; blade entire or divided, with usually 2 scales at its base. 



