306 DECANDRIA— TRIGYNIA. Arenaria. 



in the form of the leaves and petals ; and what he relates of the 

 hairiness or smoothness of the stem, agrees with that plant, not 

 with our Stellaria. 



236. ARENARIA. Sandwort.^ 



Linn. Gen. 226. Juss. 301. Fl.Br.477. Lam. t. 378. Gcertn. 

 1. 130. 



Nat. Ord. see n. 232. 



Cal. inferior, of 5 oblong, pointed, spreading, mostly ribbed, 

 permanent leaves. Pet. 5, ovate or lanceolate, undivided. 

 Nect. 5 or 10 glands at the base of the stamens. Filam. 

 awl-shaped, 5 of them rather the shortest, or latest. Anth. 

 roundish. Germ, ovate, superior. Styles 3, short, spread- 

 ing. Stigmas downy. Cajjs. ovate, covered by the per- 

 manent calyx and withered corolla, of one cell, and 3, 

 rarely 6, valves. Seeds numerous, kidney-shaped, rough- 

 ish, attached to a short central column. 



Herbs of humble growth, with numerous, or much divided, 

 slender stems ; opposite, mostly narrow, entire, undivided 

 leaves ,- and small, white or reddish, inodorous Jlowers, 

 with coloured anthers. In A. tenuifolia, especially, the 

 number of stamens varies from 3 to 10. The valves of 

 the capsule are either 3 or 6, never, except by some 

 strange accident, 5, though they have been so described. 

 The pubescence of the herbage is sometimes variable. 

 The best specific characters are found in the various 

 forms and ribs of the calyx. 



* Stipulas none. 



1 . A. peploides. Sea Chickweed, or Sandwort. 

 Leaves ovate, acute, fleshy. Calyx obtuse, without ribs. 



A. peploides. Linn. Sp. PI. 605. Willd. v. 2. 716. Fl. Br. 477. 



Engl. Bot.v. 3. t. 189. Hook. Scot. 137. Fl. Dan. t. 624. 

 Honkenya peploides. Ehrh. Beitr. v. 2. 181. 

 Alsine marina, foliis Portulacse. Loes.Pruss. 12. t.2. RaiiSyn.35l. 

 A. littoralis, foliis Portulacae. Bauh. Pin. 25 1 . 

 Anthyllis lentifolia, sive Alsine cruciata marina. Ger. Em. 622. f. 

 A. prior lentifolia, peplios effigie maritima. Lob. Advers. 195. f. 



Ic. 468. f. Bauh. Hist. v. 3. p. 2. 374./. very bad, copied from 



Lobel. 



On the sandy sea coast frequent. 

 Perennial. June, July. 



