130 THE PINK FAMILT. 



growing near the sea, often distinguished as a species, under the name of 

 S. marina, has tlucker, somewhat fleshy leaves, larger flowers (tlie sepals 

 2 to 3 lines long), larger capsules, and the seeds usually bordered, but both 

 varieties occur with bordered and with unbordered seeds. 



XIII. SPURRY. SPERGULA. 



Slender herbs, with narrow-linear leaves in opposite clusters, so as to ap- 

 pear whorled, and minute, scarious stipules. Sepals 5. Petals 5, undivided. 

 Stamens 10, or occasionally 5 or fewer. Styles 5. Capsule opening in 5 

 entire valves. 



A tery small European and Asiatic genus, difiering from Pearlwort, as 

 Sandspurry does from Sandwort, by the presence of scarious stipules. 



1. Corn Spurry. Spergiila arvensis, Linn. 

 (Eng. Bot. t. 1535 ; and S. pentandra, Eng. Bot. t. 1536.) 



A slender annual, branching at the base into several erect or ascending 

 stems, 6 inches to a foot high, glabrous or slightly downy. Leaves almost 

 subulate, 1 to 2 inches long, growing 6 cr 8 together, in two opposite clus- 

 ters, and spreading, so as to appear whorled. The scarious stipules much 

 smaller than in Sandspurry, and sometimes rather difEcidt to see. Flowers 

 small, white, on long slender pedicels, turned down after flowering, in ter- 

 minal, forked cymes. Sepals 1^ to 2 lines long. Petals generally shorter. 

 Stamens frequently 10 or 5 in different flowers of the same plant. Seeds 

 sUghtly flattened, with or without a narrow, scarious border. 



In cultivated and waste places, widely spread over Europe, and Russian 

 and central Asia ; but in the northern districts, as in many other parts of 

 the world, ojily as a cornfield weed. Common in British cornfields. Fl. 

 all Slimmer. 



XIV. POI.YCARP. POLYCARPON. 



Low annuals, with opposite, or apparently whorled, flat leaves, and 

 scarious stipules. Sepals 5. Petals 5, very minute. Stamens 3 to 5. 

 Styles 3, very short. 



A genus of two or three Mediterranean species, very near to Sandspurry, 

 but, in their minute petals and very short styles, showing a further approach 

 to the Paronycliia family. 



1. Four-leaved Polycarp. Polycarpon tetraphyllum, Linn. 

 (Eng. Bot. t. 1031.) 



A glabrous, much branched, spreading or prostrate annual, seldom more 

 than 3 or 4 inches long. Leaves obovate or oblong, really opposite, but 

 placed, as they usually are, under the forks, two jiairs are so close together 

 as to assume the appearance of a whorl of 4. Flowers very small and nu- 

 merous, in loose, terminal cymes ; the sepals barely a line Iqjig, and rather 

 concave. Petals much shorter, and very thin. Stamens usually 3. 



In sandy situations, generally not far from . the sea, in south-western 

 Europe, and round the Mediterranean, extending along the Atlantic up to 

 the Channel Islands and southern England. Fl. summer. 



i 



