Caryoplyllem^ FLORA OF Tasmania 
Gen. III. STELLABIA, /.. 
Sepala 4-5. Petala 4-5 (rarius 0), bifida v. tripartita. Si 
columna centrali inserta. Stigmata 2-5. Cajasula polysperma, valvis 1-1 u 
nulata. 
A genus very extensively diiVused through the north temperate and aretie /.one: also found on the mountains ot 
various other parts of the globe.— Herbaceous, opposite-leaved, coriaceous or flaccid plants, often tufted, slender, ami 
straggling herbs. Sepals four or five. Petals four or five (rarely none), bifid or bipartite. Wa 
eight to ten. Ovules inserted on a central column. SUgvuu three, rarely two or live. Capsule many-seeded, bursting 
by twice as many valves as there are styles. Seed* with a granular tot a. (Name from stella, a star ; in allusion to 
the spreading flowers.) 
1. Stellaria mtdtiflora (Hook. Comp. Bot. Mag. i. 275) ; caespitosa, glaberrima, apetala, eaulibus 
perplurimis ascendentibus suberectisve basi rcpentibus crassiusculis, foliis parvia (1-2 tin. Longu) oblongts 
linearibusve acuminatis subulatisve in petioluui brevem angustatis, floribtu majusculis m onun nodo sdi- 
tariis axillaribus sessilibus v. pedunculatis, sepalis subulato-lanceolatis acuminata, Mammil>ii> i.- 1... ...j. ..1.. 
ovato-globosa sepalis requilonga ad medium 0-valvi, seimnibus 2-('» niagnis gros.-e tuberculati>. . 
Lond. Joum. Bot. ii. 4 11. ( Q**», 45 1, 652.) 
Hab. Common on grassy, dn pastures, and on rocks, etc.; OB granite rocks in St. Pal 
elev. 2000 feet, Ga*».— (EL Oct Nov.) (r. v.) 
the leave* 
three-nerved. Petals 
. lulu,! ,llM 
number. Ovary oblong, with three short styles. ( pala, deeply ^x-valved. Seeds two to 
six, large for the size of the capsule, red-brown, tubercled.— In the New Zealand Flora I alluded to a very small 
state of this (that collected on granite rocks in St. Patrick's River), under the S. elatinoide, of that Island ; but on 
re-examination am rather inclined to refer it to S. muWJlora, from which it differs only in size and in the habit, which 
is no doubt induced by the locality. 
2. Stellaria media (Smith, Engl. Bot. t. 537), var. flaccida ; canle elongate debili ramoso nitido 
parce biseriatim piloso v. glabrato, foliis ovato-lanceolatis acutissimis ciliatis inferioribus prsecipue in petio- 
lum brevem atteimatis, pedicellis axillaribus solitariis foliis triplo longioribus, petalis bipartitis, sepalis glabns 
pilosisve 1-3-nerviis marginibus albidis longioribus.— S. flaccida, Hook. O.mp. But. Mag. n. 275 ; Nt 
in Bond. Joum. Bot. ii. 411. {Gunn, 450.) 
Hab. Yar. flaccida. In dense thickets and in shaded places generally, Launceston, Circular Head, 
etc., Gmm.— {TL Nov. Dec.) 
Distrib. Europe and North Asia, Southern and Eastern Australia, Auckland and Campbell's Island ; 
also found in temperate North and South America, but in most places perhaps mirodneed. 
After a very careful comparison of this with . .-an. North Asiatic, n. 
S media, I am convinced that it is absolutely identical with m.i.ic iWms nt that phmi. : 
rower than in the commoner states, and the bifarious line of bai - I— r a ; ery v anable 
character I find both in European and Tasmanian specimens, that the *eeds vary greatly in size, and in the length 
of the prominent tubercles with which they are covered. The sepals of the Tasmanian (and English) specimens 
are smooth or ciliated, and the stamens vary from five to ten.-Stem weak, loosely tufted, or trailing, 6 inches to 
