Genus 4. 



PINK FAMILY. 



69 



2. Lychnis dioica L. Red Campion. Red 

 bird's-eye. Fig. 1818. 



Lychnis dioica L. Sp. PI. 437. 1753. 

 Lychnis diurna Sibth. Fl. Oxon. 145. 1794. 



Biennial, very viscid-pubescent, branching above, 

 l°-2° high. Basal leaves long-petioled, oblong, 

 obtuse put pointed, the blade z'-t,' long; stem- 

 leaves sessile or the lower short-petioled, ovate, 

 acute, 1-2' long, i'-ii' wide; flowers numerous 

 in panicled cymes, red or nearly white, scentless, 

 9"-i2" broad, dioecious, opening in the morning; 

 calyx at first tubular, about 4" long and 2i" wide, 

 swollen in fruit to nearly globular by the ripening 

 pod, its teeth ovate-lanceolate, acute; petals obo- 

 vate, 2-clef t, crowned ; teeth of the capsule 2-cIeft, 

 recurved. 



In waste places and ballast, Nova Scotia to Ontario, 

 New York and Virginia. Adventive from Europe. Sum- 

 mer. Robins. Red- or poor-robin. Bachelor's-buttons. 

 White soapwort. Soldiers. Adder's- or Devil's-flower. 



3. Lychnis chalcedonica L. Scarlet Lychnis. 

 Fire-balls. Fig. 1819. 



Lychnis chalcedonica L. Sp. PI. 436. 1753. 



Perennial, stem stout, erect, simple or little 

 branched, finely pubescent or hirsute, i°-2'° tall. 

 Leaves ovate, ovate-lanceolate or the upper lanceo- 

 late, acute or acuminate at the apex, rounded or 

 subcordate at the base, sessile or somewhat clasping, 

 dark green, 2'-$' long, 6"-i8" wide ; flowers per- 

 fect, numerous, about i' broad, scarlet, in one or 

 more usually dense terminal cymes ; calyx oblong 

 in flower, becoming obovoid, its teeth triangular, 

 acute; petals 2-cleft or laciniate; capsule borne on 

 a stipe nearly its own length, its teeth entire. 



Escaped from gardens to roadsides, Massachusetts to 

 southern New York. Native of eastern Europe and 

 western Asia. Flowers, in cultivation, often double. 

 Sweet-william. None-such. Old English names, Scarlet- 

 lightning. Cross-of-Jerusalem, Maltese- or Knight's-cross. 

 June-Sept. 



4. Lychnis Flos-cuculi L. Cuckoo Flower. 

 Ragged Robin. Fig. 1820. 



Lychnis Flos-cuculi L. Sp. PI. 436. 1753. 



Perennial, slender, erect, i°-2° high, freely 

 branching, downy-pubescent below, slightly vis- 

 cid above. Lower and basal leaves oblanceolate 

 or spatulate, 2-3' long, tapering into a broad 

 petiole ; upper leaves sessile, lanceolate or linear- 

 lanceolate, distant, the uppermost reduced to 

 lanceolate bracts ; inflorescence paniculate ; flow- 

 ers pink, blue or white, 8"-l2" broad ; calyx at 

 first cylindric, 3" long, lo-nerved, becoming 

 campanulate in fruit, its teeth triangular, acute ; 

 petals cleft into 4 linear lobes, the middle pair 

 of lobes longer; capsule globose. 



In moist waste places, New Brunswick to New 

 Jersey and Pennsylvania. Commonly cultivated. 

 Fugitive from Europe. Crow-flower. Meadow-pink 

 or -campion. Cuckoos. Indian-pink. Ragged Jack. 

 Marsh-gilliflower. June-Sept. 



