CARYOPHYLLACE^E 105 



somewhat too rampant to associate with the smallest and choicest 

 Alpines. 



The majority of the Cerastia are either lowland plants or distinctly 

 high Alpine ; though occasionally in the sub- Alps we find C. 

 pumilum and semidecandrum from the plains, and C. trigynum and 

 C. alpinum descending from the higher mountains. 



ALSINE Wahl. 



Petals 5, or rarely 4, entire or slightly notched. Stamens 5, 8, or 

 10, all attached to the disc. Styles usually 3. Capsule 3-valved. 

 Leaves mostly linear or linear-lanceolate. 



A considerable genus spread throughout the greater part of the 

 globe, but especially in temperate regions. Most species are now 

 placed in MINUARTIA Leofling. 



Alsine fasciculata Mert. and Koch. 



Annual or biennial, glabrous or downy. Stems 2-10 inches high, 

 erect, stiff. Leaves linear-awl-shaped. Flowers in thick, erect 

 corymbs. Pedicels shorter than calyx. Sepals scarious lanceolate- 

 acuminate, with i nerve. Petals half length of sepals. Stamens 10. 

 Capsule oblong-conical, equalling or shorter than the calyx. Seeds 

 tuberculous. 



Rocks and arid, sandy places in the mountains and hills. June 

 to August. 



Distribution. Jura, Alsace, Savoy, Dauphiny, Cevennes, 

 Pyrenees, Southern Switzerland. Southern Europe, Morocco. 



Alsine rostrata Koch (A. mucronata L.). 



Stems upright and loosely csespitose in habit. Leaves usually in 

 tufts, linear, subulate, stiff. Sepals almost entirely scarious, or, in 

 other words, white with 2 green stripes on the back, lanceolate- 

 acuminate, i-nerved. Petals almost equalling the sepals. Flowers 

 small, in little loose corymbs. 



Dry, rocky, sunny places from 4000-7200 feet. May to August. 



A very variable plant both in size and habit, and with at least 

 two hairy or glandular named varieties. 



Distribution. Western Alps, Switzerland, West Tyrol, Cevennes, 

 Corbieres, Pyrenees, Corsica, Spain, Italy, Algeria. 



Alsine laricifolia Crantz. 



Stem erect or ascending, 3-10 inches high, simple or branched, 

 finely downy like the flower-stalks and calyx, or viscid-glandular 

 above. Leaves linear or subulate, semi-cylindrical, rough at the 

 margin with fine notches, otherwise glabrous. Flowers large, white, 

 like those of Cerastium arvense, in 1-3 flowered panicles ; flower- 

 stalks erect, spreading. Petals twice as long as calyx, wedge-shaped 

 or obovate, obtuse. Calyx-teeth, lanceolate, obtuse, green, mem- 



