106 ILLECEBRACE^. Spergula. 



Tribe II. SPERGULEJE. Bartl. 



Sepals 'nearly plane. Petals usually manifest, sometimes ivanting. Styles or stigmas 3-5. 

 Capsule one-celled, 3-5 valved, viany-seeded : placenta central. 



1. SPERGULA. Bartl. ord. nat.p. 302; Torr. ^- Gr.fi. N. Am. l.p. 174. spurrey. 

 [ From the Latin, spargers, to scatter ; because it scatters its seeds abroad.] 



Sepals nearly distinct. Petals 5, entire, mostly somewhat perigynous. Stamens 5 - 10, 

 inserted with the petals. Styles 3-5. Capsule 3 - 5-valved, many-seeded. Seeds com- 

 pressed, orbicular or reniform, often surrounded with a membranaceous margin. — Leaves 

 mostly fascicled in the axils. Flowers loosely cymose. 



^ 1. Spergula proper. — Styles 5, distinct to the base. Capsule 5-valved ; the valves opposite the 



sepals. 



1. Spergula arvensis, Linn. Co7-n Simrrey. Tares. 



Leaves verticillate and mostly fascicled, subulate-linear ; stipules mJnute ; peduncles reflexed 

 in fruit; .stamens 10; seeds rough, somewhat globose, with a narrow margin. — Gart.fr. 

 t. 130 ; Eng. hot. t. 1536 ; Pursh,fl. l.p. 320 ; Ell. sk. 1. p. 523 ; Bigel.fl. Bost. p. 185 ; 

 Torr.fi. l.p. 457 ; Hook. ft. Bor.-Am. l.p. 92 ; Torr. 4- Gr. fi,. N. Am. I. p. 174. Sper- 

 gularia arvensis, A. St. Hil. fi. Bras. 2. p. 178. 



A foot long, erect or spreading. Stem swollen at the joints. Leaves 1-2 inches long, 

 almost filiform, somewhat terete. Flowers in terminal divaricate naked cymes : pedicels of the 

 fruit nearly an inch long. Sepals ovate. Petals white, ratlier longer than the calyx. Cap- 

 sule llie size of a small pea, about the length of the calyx. Seeds blackish, with an acute 

 edge or narrow border. 



Fields and waste places ; introduced in grain from Europe. FI. May - October. Culti- 

 vated on the continent of Europe, particularly in Holland and Germany, as fodder for sheep 

 and cows. It is said greatly to enrich tlie milk of the latter. Hens are said to eat the plant 

 greedily. 



^2. Spbrgularia, Pcrs. Styles i. Capsule 3-valved. — Species of Arenaria, Linn^ 



2. Spergula rubra, Torr. Sf Gr. Red-flowered Spurrey. 



Stems decumbent, much branched ; leaves narrowly linear, acute or mucronate, somewhat 

 fleshy ; stipules- ovate, cleft ; sepals lanceolate, with broadly scarious margins ; (petals red or 

 rose-color;) seeds compressed. — Torr. <^- Gr. I. c. Spergularia rubra, A. St. Hil. I. c. 

 Arenaria rubra, Linn. , Torr.fi. l.p. 456 ; DC. prodr.l.p. 401 ; Cham. <J- Schlecht. in Linncea, 

 l.p. 52; Hook.fl. Bor.-Am. 1. p. 98. A. Canadensis, Pers. syn. l.p. 504. 



