PINK FAMILY 



the throat. Each petal has two tiny appendages at the point 

 where the blade narrows to the claw, and the ten together make 

 a minute corona which evidently guards the stamens until the 

 pollen is mature. 



SWEET WILLIAM CATCHFLY 



SiUne armaria. 



Silene, Greek; referring to the sticky exudation on stem and calyx 

 of several species, by which insects are often caught. 



Stem. — Twelve to eighteen inches high. 



Leaves. — Opposite, ovate. 



Flowers. — Pink or white, in m a n y - 

 flowered terminal and axillary flat -topped 

 panicles. 



Calyx. — Cylindrical, five-toothed. 



Petals. — Five, long-clawed ; each blade with 

 two appendages at its base. 



Stamens. — Ten. 



Ovary. — One-celled; styles three; seeds 

 many. 



This is the Catchfly of old gardens, 

 which still persists as an inheritance of 

 the past, but has little to support it in 

 competition with the flowers of the pres- 

 ent. Though long in cultivation it is still weedy. 



The species now chiefly offered by the trade is Silene pendula 

 var. compdcta, which is a dwarf upright form of a trailing primitive. 

 It grows two or three inches high, forms cushion-mats a foot in 

 diameter, and blooms profusely in early spring. 



Sweet William Catchfly. 

 SUhie armh'ia 



138 



