208 DECANDRIA PENTAGYXIA. [cL. X. 



5. L. vespertina. White Campion. Corn Lychnis. Flowers dioe- 

 cious ; petals cleft, crowned with four teeth ; capsule one-celled, 



conical ; leaves between oblong and lance-shaped. Stem from 



eighteen inches to three feet high : panicle terminal, many-flowered : 

 petals somewhat leathery, white. The flowers emit a pleasant 

 odour in the evening. This and the preceding are considered by 

 most botanists as forming only one species. Perennial : flowers 

 from June to September : grows in corn-fields and waste places : 

 not common. Eng. Bot. vol. xxii. pi. 1583. L. dioica, var. ft. Eng. Fl. 

 vol. ii. p. 328. 710. 



19. CERA'STIUM. MOUSE-EAR CHICK-WEED. 



Calyx inferior, of five egg-shaped, acute, permanent leaves, 

 membranous at the edges. Petals five, divided, obtuse, about 

 the length of the calyx. Filaments thread-like, generally ten, 

 sometimes five or four ; alternate one shorter ; anthers roundish, 

 two-lobed. Germeu egg-shaped, superior, sessile. Styles five, 

 rarely four only, short; stigma bluntish, downy. Capsule 

 thin, egg-shaped or cylindrical, one-celled. Seeds numerous, 

 roundish, rough. Name from ceras, a horn, on account of the 

 curved capsules of some species. 239. 



1. C. vulgdtum. Broad-leaved Mouse-ear Chick-weed. Leaves 

 egg-shaped, hairy; petals as long as the calyx; flowers longer 



than their stalks. Root fibrous, small : stems numerous, irom 



four to six inches long : leaves and stems hairy and pale-green : 

 capsule twice as long as the calyx, cylindrical. Annual : flowers 

 in the summer months : grows infields and waste ground : common. 

 Eng. Bot. vol. xi. pi. 789. Eng. Fl. vol. ii. p. 330. 711. 



2. C. viscosum. Narrow-leaved Mouse-ear Chick-weed. Leaves be- 

 tween oblong and lance-shaped, hairy ; flowers shorter than their 



stalks. Roots fibrous, small : stems numerous, from four to 



eight inches long : leaves and stems hairy, dark-green, and clammy. 

 Perennial : flowers during the summer months : grows in fields and 

 waste grounds: common. Eng. Bot. vol. xi. pi. 790. Eng. Fl. vol. 

 ii. p. 331. 712. 



3. C. semidecandrum. Small Mouse-ear Chick-weed. Leaves egg- 

 shaped, inclining to oblong ; petals slightly cleft ; stamens five. 



Stem generally branched, spreading at the base, three or four inches 

 high : leaves and stems hairy, very clammy, and generally covered 

 with particles of sand and dust. Annual : flowers in April and May : 

 grows in sandy ground, and on walls : common. Eng. Bot. vol. 

 xxiii. pi. 1630. Eng. Fl. vol. ii. p. 331. 713. 



4. C. tetrdndrum. Tetrandrous Mouse-ear Chick-weed. Leaves 

 broadly elliptical ; petals four, inversely heart-shaped, shorter than 



the four-leaved calyx ; stamens four. Stems procumbent, from 



two to five inches long, forked: flower-stalks nearly thrice the 

 length of the calyx : the whole plant hairy and somewhat clammy. 

 Annual : flowers in May and June : grows in sandy pastures and 

 waste grounds, and on walls : common. Eng. Bot. vol. iii. pi. 166 : 

 Sagina cerastoides. Eng. Fl. vol. ii. p. 332. 714. 



5. C.arvense. Field Mouse-ear Chick-iceed. Leaves narrow lance- 

 shaped, fringed at the base ; petals twice the length of the calyx, 



