62 CARYOPHYLLE^S. [STELLARIA. 



3. S. me'dia, Vill. ; stem procumbent with a line of hairs, leaves ovate 

 acuminate, lower petioled, upper sessile, cymes many-flowered, petals 

 shorter than the glandular sepals sometimes 0. Chickweed. 



Cultivated and waste ground, N. to Shetland ; ascends to 2,700 ft. ; Ireland ; 

 Channel Islands ; fl . March-Oct. One of the commonest and most variable 

 of plants, 6-18 in., easily recognized by the line of hairs on the stem and 

 branches. Stamens 3, 5, or 10. DISTRIB. All Arctic and N. temp, regions ; 

 naturalized elsewhere. 



S. ME'DIA proper; pedicels pubescent, sepals hairy, petals 5, variable or 0, 

 stamens 5 (3 in S. Borcea'na, Jord., and Als.pal'lida, Dum.) (10 in S. neglec'ta, 

 Weihe), seeds obtusely tubercled 



Sub-sp. S. TJMBRO'SA, Opitz. ; more erect, leaves more acuminate, pedicels 

 glabrous, sepals lanceolate glabrous with raised points, seeds acutely tuber- 

 cled. S. Elizabe'thce, Schultz. From Perth southd. 



4. S. Holos'tea, L. ; stem suberect 4-angled, angles rough, leaves ses- 

 sile connate lanceolate acuminate ciliate, petals twice as long as the almost 

 nerveless sepals. 



Copsas, hedgerows, &c., from Caithness southd.; ascend3 to 1,900ft. in the 

 Highlands ; Ireland ; Channel Islands ; fl. April-June. Perennial. Stem 

 1-2 ft., decumbent at the base, brittle at the nodes, hairy above. Leaves 

 1-4 in., rigid. Flowers |r-f in. diam., white, pedicels slender. Capsule 

 globose. DISTRIB. Europe, "W. Asia. Flowers sometimes double ; petals 

 occasionally laciniate. 



SECTION 3. Lar'brea, St. Hilaire (gen.). Sepals united at the base 

 into a conical tube. Stamens very perigynous. Styles 3. Capsule 6-valved. 



5. S. palus'tris, Ehrh. ; glaucous, glabrous, stem suberect 4-angled, 

 leaves very narrow sessile margins even, peduncles very long axillary, 

 petals longer than the 3-nerved sepals. S. glau'ca, With. 



Marshy places, not uncommon from the Clyde and Forth to Surrey and Dorset ; 

 rare in Ireland ; Channel Islands ; fl. May-July. Perennial. Stems 1-2 ft., 

 very slender. Leaves 1-2 in., oblong-lanceolate, or linear-oblong. Flowers 

 |-| in. diam., few, distant. Bracts membranous. Sepals lanceolate, acute, 

 margins broadly scarious. Capsule ovoid, as long as the sepals ; pedicel 

 spreading. DISTRIB. Europe, Siberia, "W. Asia to the Himalaya, Green- 

 land. 



6. S. gramin'ea, L. ; glabrous, stem suberect 4-angled, leaves very 

 narrow sessile ciliate, cymes branched, petals equalling the 3-nerved 

 sepals. 



Dry pastures, hedgebanks, fee., N. to Shetland ; ascends to 1,000 ft. in Yorks. ; 

 Ireland ; Channel Islands ; fl. May-Aug. Perennial, not glaucous Stem 

 1-3 ft. Leaves as in S. glauca, but ciliate. Flowers f in. diam., many. 

 Bracts scarious, ciliate. Pedicels reflexed after flowering, then spreading. 

 Sepals acute. Capsule ovoid, nodding, a little longer than the sepals. 

 DISTRIB. Europe (Arctic), Siberia, W. Asia to the Himalaya. S. scapig'era, 

 Willd., said to be found by Don in Perth and Inverness-shire, is a cultivated 

 abnormal form, with short stems, imbricate leaves, long erect solitary 

 peduncles, and small flowers. 



