66 CARYOPHYLLE^. [SAGINA. 



* Flowers 4- rarely 5-merous. Petals minute. 



1. S. apet'ala, L. ; annual, primary and lateral shoots all flowering, 

 radical leaves sub-rosulate, petals minute or 0. 



Dry banks, wall tops, &c. ; fl. May- Aug. A slender, wiry herb, 4-10 in. 



Leaves T VJ in - Flowery T \j in. diam., green, pedicels capillary. DISTRIB. 



Europe, N. Africa, W. Asia ; doubtfully indigenous in the U. States. 

 S. APET'ALA proper ; branches ascending, leaves ciliate at the base mucronate, 



pedicels erect, sepals at length spreading obtuse exceeding the capsule. 



From Perth and Forfar southd. ; rare in Scotland; Ireland; Channel 



Islands. 

 Sub-sp. S. CILIA'TA, Fries ; decumbent, glandular-pubescent, leaves "more or 



less ciliate mucronate, sepals always appressed to the capsule 2 outer 



mucronate. S. ambigua, Lloyd. From Aberdeen southd., Ireland and 



Channel Islands ; rather rare. 

 Sub-sp. S. MARIT'IMA, Don ; decumbent or ascending, glabrous, leaves obtuse 



or apiculate, sepals suberect in fruit broad obtuse. S. marit'ima proper ; 



ascending, slender, internodes long, capsule about equal to the sepals. 



Sandy sea-shores, N. to Shetland, Ireland and Channel Islands. VAB. 



S. deb'ilis, JOrd. ; decumbent, slender, internodes long, capsule a little 



shorter than the sepals. VAB. S. den'sa, Jord. ; tufted, slender, internodes 



short, capsule as in deb'ilis. Christchurch, Hants, and Wisbeach. VAB. 



alpi'na, Synie ; ascending, stoutish, internodes short, capsule shorter than 



the sepals. Top of Ben Nevis, Don. 



2. S. procum'bens, L. ; perennial, stems many, primary shoot flower- 

 less, lateral slender with fascicled branchlets usually procumbent and 

 rooting, petals very small. 



Waste places, paths, banks, &c. ; ascends to 3,800 ft. in the Highlands; 

 Ireland ; Channel Islands ; fl. May-Sept. Branches 1-8 in. Leaves glabrous 

 or ciliate (var. spino'sa, Bab.), obtuse, mucronate, longer than in 8. apet'ala. 

 Flowers usually solitary, sometimes 5-merous. Sepals spreading in fruit. 

 Styles recurved during flowering. Capsule a little longer than the sepals, 

 pedicels erect or curved at the tip. DISTRIB. Europe (Arctic), N. Africa, 

 N. and W. Asia to the Himalaya, Greenland, N. America, Fuegia. 



** Flowers 5- rarely k-merous. Petals as long as the sepals or longer. 

 (Perennial, with a leafy jlowerless central stem, many lateral jlowering 

 branches, minute subulate leaves, and slender erect 1-Jlowered pedicels. 

 SPERGELLA, Reichb.) 



3. S. Iiinnse'i, Presl ; glabrous, leaves mucronate, petals longer than 

 the glabrous obtuse sepals, capsule 5-valved almost twice as long as tho 

 usually appressed sepals. 



Alps of Perth and Forfar to Sutherland ; ascends to 2,700 ft. ; fl. June- Aug. 

 Distinguishable from the 5-merous forms of S. procum'bens only by the 

 longer white petals, erect styles, and usually longer capsules with appressed 

 sepals. DISTRIB. Arctic and Alpine Europe, Siberia, N. America. 



S. LINNJE'I proper ; branches many prostrate rooting, pedicels curved erect in 

 fruit. S. saxat'ilis, Winim. \Sper' gula saginoi'des, Sm. 



Sub-sp. S. NIVA'LIS, Fries; densely . tufted, leaves broader, pedicels always 

 erect, petals shorter. Ben Lawers, Skye, and Clova Mountains. 



