PINK FAMILY. 67 



7.: SA6INA, PEARLWORT. (Latin name, means nch nourishment, 

 which, however, these small and insignificant plants can hardly be. ) Thcr? 

 are four or five species in the country, none very common ; the most so is 

 S. proCT^mbens. Springy places and damp shores, &c., N. ; a smooth 



little plant, tufted and spreading, l'-3' high, with almost thread-shaped leaves; 



the blunt sepals, short white petals, stamens, and styles 4 or rarely 5. 



8. CEHASTIUM, MOUSE-EAR CHICKWEED. (Name in Greek 

 refers to the horn-shaped pod of some species. The popular name is from the 

 shape and soft hairiness of the leaves of the common species.) 



» Flowern inconspicuous, the denplij 2-cl.eft petals being shorter or little longer than 

 the calyx ; the pods becoming much longer and curving more or less. Flower- 

 ing all summer, white. 



C. vulg&tum, Common M., from Penn. S., but scarce N., in grassy places. 

 An insignificant soft-hairy weed; stems erect, 4' -9' high, slightly clammy; 

 leaves ovate or obovate, small ; pedicels even in fruit and petals shorter than 

 the calyx. © 



C. Vise6sum, Clammy M. Common in grassy places ; stems spreading, 

 6' - 1.5' long, clammy-hairy ; leaves oblong ; pedicels becoming longer than the 

 calyx ; petals as long as the calyx. @ ^ 



C. ntltans, Nodding-fruited M. Common in moist or shady grounds, 

 wild. Clammy-pubescent, erect, 6' -18' high, becoming very loosely-flowered 

 and branched ; leaves oblong-lanceolate ; petals longer than calyx ; pods long, 

 nodding on the slender flower-stalk and curved upwards. ® 



* * Flowers conspicuous, the snowy white petals 2 or 3 times the length oftlie calyx: 



pod shorter : plants fm-ming matted tufis. y. 



C. arv6nse, Field M. Dry fields, &c. Downy but green ; leaves vary- 

 ing from narrow-oblong to linear ; flowering stems 4' - 6' high, few-flowered ; 

 petals notched at the end. 



C. toment6sum. Cottony M. Cult, from Eu. for borders, &c., its 

 spreading shoots, crowded with oblong white-woolly leaves, making dense silvery 

 mats ; petals deeply 2-cleft. 



9. STELLABIA, STARWORT-CHICKWEED. (Name from Latin 

 stelJa, a star.) Petals white, but sometimes small or none. Fl. spring and ' 

 summer. None cultivated ; but the first is a weed in every garden. 



* Stems weak and spreading, marked with pubescent lines : leaves broad. 



S. m^dia, Common S. or Chickweed. In all damp cult, grounds; 

 leaves ovate or oblong, the lower on hairy petioles ; petals shorter than the 

 calyx, 2-parted ; stamens 3-10. ® 



S. pubera, Great S. Shaded rocks, wild from Penn. S. & W. ; leayeu 

 oblong or oval, sessile ; petals longer than the calyx, 2-cleft. 



* * Stems erect or spreading, and whole plant smooth : leaves narrow, sessile. 3/ 



S. longif61ia, Long-leaved S. or Stitchwort. Common in damp 

 grassy places N. ; stem weak, 8' -18' high; leaves linear, widely spreading; 

 flowers numerous on slender spreading pedicels in a very loose cyme ; petals 

 2^parted, longer than the calyx. 



S. bore^is, Northern S. Wet grassy places N. ; stem 3' - 10' high, 

 forking repeatedly and .with flowers in the forks of the leafy branches ; leaves 

 broadly lanceolate or narrow-oblong ; petals shorter than the calyx, or none. 



10. ARENABIA, SANDWORT. (So named because several grow in 

 sand or sandy soil.) All the following are wild, also some others less com- 

 mon. Fl. spring and summer. 



« Petals inconspicuous, white. 

 A. serpyllif61ia, Thyme-leaved S. An insignificant little weed, in 

 sandy or gravelly waste places, 2' - 6' high ; stems erect, roughish, much 

 branched ; leaves ovate, pointed ; petals scarcely longer than the 3 - 5-nervcd 

 pointed sepals. ® 



