SPERGULA. XXli. ILLECEBRACE^E. 185 



nearly sessile ; fil. united above the middle ; capsules oblong, much longer than 

 the sepals. Swamps, N. J. to Ky. Stem about 2f high. Leaves 13' long, 

 rounded-obtuse. Flowers smaller than in the last, of a dull orange-color, 

 Aug. Sept. 



ORDER XXII. ILLECEBRACE^]. KNOTWORTS. 



Plants herbaceous or suffruticose, branching. 



Lvs. sessile, entire. Stipules and bracts scarious. Fls. minute. 



Col. Sepals 5, distinct or coherent at base, persistent. 



Cor. Petals minute, inserted between the sepals, often wanting, 



Sta. equal in number to the sepals (sometimes less or more) inserted into the pengynous disk. 



Ova. superior, 1-oelled. Sty. 2$, either partially or wholly combined. 



Fr. a utricle, sd. solitary, attached to base of cell ; or a many-seeded capsule. 



Genera 24, species 100, found mostly around the Mediterranean. Seven of the genera have been foun 

 in N. America. A slight astringency is their only known property. 

 Conspectus of the Genera. 



1 ( or sterile filaments none Anychia. 1 



< minute, resembling sterile filaments Paronychia. 2 



Petals ( conspicuous, white or rose-colored Spergula, 3 



1. ANYCHIA. Michx. 



Gr. ovt)|, the fingernail j a supposed remedy for the maladies of that organ. 



Calyx of 5, ovate-oblong, connivent sepals, callous, subsaccate at the 

 apex ; corolla ; filaments 2 5, distinct ; stigma subcapitate ; utri- 

 cle enclosed in the sepals. Small herbs, with dichotomous branches, 

 Lvs. stipulate. 



A. DICHOTOMA. Michx. (dueria Canadensis. Linn.) Forked Chickweed. 



St. at length much branched, erect ; Ivs. lanceolate, cauline ones oppo- 

 site, ramial ones alternate ; fls. about as long as the stipules, terminal ones 

 subfasciculate. Dry woods and hills, Can. and N. Eng. to Ark. Stem 4 10. 

 high, round, slender, pubescent above, with dichotomous, filiform branches. 

 Leaves 2 8" by J 2", acute or obtuse, with ovate-acuminate, scarious stipules 

 at base situated at each fork of the stem. Flowers axillary, solitary, or in ter- 

 minal clusters o!3 or more, very small, white. Jn. Aug. 



/?. capillacea. Torr. Smooth ; brandies capillary ; Ivs. oblong, obtuse, cunei- 

 form at base. la. ! 111. ! 



2. PARONYCHIA. Tourn. 



Etymology similar to the foregoing. 



Sepals united at base, acuminate cuspidate at apex, the lining 

 membrane colored and cucullate or saccate at summit ; petals (sterile 

 fil. ?) very narrow and scale-like ; stamens 5 ; styles more or less 

 united ; stigmas 2 ; utricle 1 -seeded included in the calyx. 



1. P. JAMES ii. Torr. & Gray. 



Caespitose, much branched; Ivs. linear- subulate, scabrous ; ^s. few, in 

 small, dense, dichotomous cymes, the central ones sessile ; pet. (or setae) alter- 

 nate with the fertile filaments; sep. linear, with a minute -cusp. Prairies, 

 Mason Co., 111. Mead. R. Mts. James. Nutt. Stems about f long. Flowers 

 small. 



2. P. DICHOTOMA. Nutt. (Achyranthes. Linn.) 



Csespitose, densely branching ; Ivs. acerose-mucronate, glabrous, 2-grooved 

 each, side; cymes compound, diffuse, without central fls.; seta much shortei 

 than the stamens. Rocks, Harper's Ferry. Stems 6 12' high. Leaves 1' by 

 J", crowded. Style bifid i its length. JL Nov. 



3. SPERGtfLA. 



Lat. spergo, to scatter; from the dispersion of the seeds. 



Sepals 5, nearly distinct; petals 5, entire ; stamens 5 10; styles 

 3 5 ; capsules superior, ovate, 3 5-valved, many-seeded. Herbs 

 with flowers in loose cymes. Lvs. stipulate. 



