CAr.TOPETLLACE.E. 47 



On dry pastures. Var. a rather local, but occurring in most of 

 the counties on the East side of Britain, as far North as Moray ; 

 less abundant on the West side of the island. Var. |3 a doubtful 

 native, although it has been reported from the Queen's Park, 

 Edinburgh, also from Yorkshire and Sm'rey. 



England, Scotland, Ireland ?. Perennial. Late Summer 

 and Autumn. 



Cajspitose. E-ootstock dividing into very slender wiry branches, 

 producing numerous barren shoots -nith leaves ^ to f inch long, 

 having a strong prominent rib beneath. Flowering stems decumbent 

 at the base, then more or less erect, with the leaves distant or 

 approximate, becoming narrower and more acute towards the top 

 of the stem. Flowers 1 to 6 on each stem, arranged in an irregularly 

 dichotomous paniculate cyme. Peduncles usually about as long as 

 the calyx. Flowers f inch long, f inch across. Involucral scales 

 and calyx teeth with membranous margins, the mucro of the former 

 and the calyx tube with rough green ribs. Petals varying in the depth 

 of the rose-colour, with a few white spots, and a vandyked crimson 

 band at the base (the latter is present even in the white variety), 

 rounded at the apex, where there are narrowly triangular irregular 

 teeth, not extending above one-fifth the length of the laminse of the 

 petal. Capsule cylindrical. Seeds depressed, obovate, shagreened, 

 slightly convex on the upper and concave on the under surfaces ; 

 on the latter there is a raised line, having the hilum about the 

 middle. Plant growing in lax tufts, generally only slightly glaucous ; 

 stem and margins of the leaves and sometimes the siu'faces of the 

 latter slightly pubescent, with curved hairs. 



Maiden Pink. 



French, (EiMet Delto'ide. German, Ddtahlumige NdJce. 



From this species are derived but few of the varieties which adorn our gardens, and 

 which are so beautiful as to have given rise to an expression denoting pre-eminence in 

 excellence. Shakespeare speaks of the " very Pink of courtesy ;" Young, of the " Pink 

 of puppies." In some parts of Hungary this plant is dried in the sun and steeped in 

 wine, and is considered good as a cure for the ague. We find an old English name for 

 it is " Sop-in-Wine," which suggests a similar practice. Gerarde says : " There is a 

 wild creeping Pink which groweth in our pastures neere about London and in other 

 places, but especially in the great field next to Detford by the path side as you go from 

 Redriffe to Greenewich, which hath many small tender leaves shorter than any other 

 of the wilde Pinkes, set upon little tender stalks, which lie flat upon the ground, taking 

 hold of the same in sundry places, whereby it greatly increaseth, whereupon grow little 

 reddish flourea. The root is small, tough, and long lasting." 



