PINK FAMILY. 67 



7. SAGINA, PEARLWORT. (Latin name, means rich nourishment, 

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

 arc foar or five species in the country, none very common ; the most so is 



S. proCTimbens. 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. CERASTIUM, MOUSE-EAR CHICKWEED. (Name in Gi-eek 

 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.) 



* Flowera inconspicuous, tile deeply 2-clefi petals heinxj shorter or little longer than, 



the caJux; the pods becoming much long^ and curving more or less. Flower- 

 ing alt summer, white. 



C. vulgitum. Common M., from P«nn. 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. visc6su.m. Clammy M. Common in grassy places ; stems spreading, 

 6' - 15' long, clammy-hairy ; leaves oblong ; pedicels becoming longer than the 

 calyx ; petals as long as the calyx. @ y. 



C. ntltans, Nodding-fkuited M. Common in njoist or shady grounds, 

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

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

 nodding on the slender flower-stalk and curved upwards. (\) 



* * Flowers conspituous, the snowy white petals 2 or 3 times the length of the calyx: 



pod shorter : plants Jbrming matted tufts. 21 ' 

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

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

 petals notched at the end. 



C. tomentosum, Cottost M. Cult, from Eu. for borders, &e., its 

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

 mats ; petals deeply 2-cleft. 



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

 Stella, a star J Petals White, but sometimes small or none. Fl. spring and 

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



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



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

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

 calyx, 2-parted ; stamens 3 - 10. (T) 



S. ptlbera. Great S. Shaded rocks, wild from Pcnn. S. & W. ; leaves 

 oblong or oval, sessile ; petals longej- than the calyx, 27cleft. 



* « Stems erect or spreading, and whole plant smooth ; leaves narrow, sessile. Jl 



S. longif61ia, Lonp-leated 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^lis, NortKekn 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 iiarrow-oblong ; petals shorter than the calyx, or none. 



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

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

 mon. Fl. spring and summer. 



* Petals inconspicuous, white. 



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

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

 branched ; lea,yes ovate, pointed ; petals scarcely longer than the 3 - 5-norye(l 

 pointM sepafs. @ 



