112 THE PINK FAMIIT. 



In Britain only on the south-eastern coasts of England. Fl. summer. The 

 hairy variety, often distinguished as a species, common in the south, does 

 not appear to extend to Britain. 



XI. THE PINK FAMILY. CAETOPHTLLACE^. 



Annual or perennial herbs, with opposite entire leaves and 

 no stipules, or, in a very few genera, small scarious stipules ; 

 the branches usually knotted at each pair of leaves ; the flowers 

 not yellow, usually in dichotomous cymes or panicles. Sepals 

 4 or 5, free, or united into a tubular calyx. Petals as many, 

 twisted in the bud, sometimes minute or wanting. Stamens 

 ■free, twice as many as the petals, or fewer, inserted under the 

 ovary. Styles 2 to 5, linear, stigmatic along their whole length. 

 Capsule 1-celled, or divided into cells at the base only, open- 

 ing at the top into as many, or twice as many teeth as there 

 are valves, and containing several seeds, attached to a shorter 

 or longer central column. 



A considei-able family, widely spread over the globe, most numerous in 

 temperate regions, especially in the northern hemisphere, extending into the 

 Arctic Circle, and to the summits of the Alps, but rare within the tropics. 

 The species are readUy distinguished by their fohage and habit fi'om all 

 British polypetalous plants, except Frankenia, Ulatine, and the cathartic 

 Flax, which have their ovary and capsule completely divided into cells, and 

 the P arony cilia foAnily, which have but one seed in the ovaiy and capsule. 



The genera into which the species are distributed are often very artificial, 

 depending on the number of sepals, petals, stamens, or styles. These 

 numbers are not indeed strictly constant, even in different flowers of the 

 same individual ; but in general by far the greater number of flowers in each 

 individual will be found to agree in this respect with the characters assigned 

 to the genus to which it belongs. Care must therefore be taken, especially 

 in the smaller-flowered Alsinea, to count the number of parts in several 

 flowers wherever any hesitation is felt as to the genus it should be referred 

 to. 



Suborder 1. Silene^. 



Sepals ttmted in a tubular or campanulate calyx. 



Two or four scales or bracta closely embracing the base or tlie 



whole of the calyx 1. Pink. 



No scales at the base of the calyx. 



Styles 2 2. Saponabia. 



Styles 3 3. Silene. 



Styles 5 (rarely 4) 4. Ltchnis. 



Suborder 2. Alsine^. 



Sepals free, or oiily very slightly connected at the base. 



Small, white, scaly stipules at the base of the leaves, 

 styles 3. Leaves Hnear, cylindrical, opposite, not clustered . 12. Sandspubet. 

 Styles 3. Leaves flat, the upper ones apparently 4' in a 



whorl 14. POLYCAEP. 



styles 5. Leaves linear, cylindrical, clustered so as to appear 



many in a whorl , 13. Spubey. 



