CARYOPHYLLACEAE. 99 



Lowest leaves ovate, petiolate. 



Stems pubescent with a line of hairs; leaves ovate. A. media. 



Stems glabrous, except at base; leaves shiny, the upper 



linear-lanceolate. A. nitens. 



Leaves all sessile. 



Bracts of the inflorescence leafy. 



Leaves lanceolate. A. borealis. 



Leaves ovate. 



Capsule longer than the calyx. A. crispa. 



Capsule not longer than the calyx. A. viridula. 



Bracts of the inflorescence small, scarious. 



Pedicels erect; cyme few-flowered. A. longipes. 



Pedicels spreading; cyme loosely many-flowered. 



Leaves linear, acute at each end ; seeds smooth. A . longifolia . 



Leaves lanceolate, broadest near the base; seeds rough. A. graminea . 



Alsine media L. Annual, weak and spreading; stems weak, 10-30 cm. 

 long, glabrous except a line of hairs; lower leaves ovate, petioled, the upper 

 narrower and sessile, all acute, 10-40 mm. long; flowers solitary in the axils 

 or somewhat cymose, on slender pedicels; calyx glandular-pubescent, nearly 

 as long as the capsule; petals deeply 2-parted, shorter than the sepals; stamens 

 3, S, or 10. Introduced and becoming common. 



Alsine nitens (Nutt.) Greene. Annual, somewhat tufted; stems erect, 

 slender, shining, 8-lS cm. tall, branched above, pubescent only at base; 

 lowest pair of leaves ovate, acute, petioled, 4 mm. long, the others linear- 

 lanceolate and sessile, 5-10 mm. long; cymes loose, few-flowered, the bracts 

 scarious; pedicels thread-like, 1-S cm. long; sepals 3-nerved, very acute, 

 scarious-margined, 4 mm. long; petals deeply 2-cleft, half as long as the sepals 

 or wanting. Stony hillsides, abundant. 



Alsine borealis (Bigel.) Britt. Perennial, glabrous throughout, the weak 

 stems ascending, branched, 15-60 cm. long; leaves broadly lanceolate, the 

 midnerve prominent, 15-35 mm. long; pedicels slender, sometimes deflexed, 

 15-30 mm. long; sepals ovate-lanceolate, acute, scarious-margined; petals 

 wanting or if present shorter than the sepals; styles mostly 4; capsule ovoid, 

 about twice as long as the sepals; seeds smooth. In wet places in the moun- 

 tains. 



Alsine crispa (Cham. & Schlecht.) Holzinger. Perennial, glabrous; stems 

 weak, decumbent or prostrate, 10-30 cm. long, simple or with but few branches; 

 leaves thin, ovate, acuminate, 8-12 mm. long, entire or crisped on the margin, 

 very short-petioled ; pedicels slender, 6-20 mm. long; sepals lanceolate, 3- 

 nerved, very acute, with a narrow scarious margin; petals deeply cleft but 

 usually wanting; capsule acutish, exceeding the sepals. In rich woods near 

 Farmington and in the Craig Mountains. 



Alsine viridula Piper. Perennial, forming dense, prostrate, circular mats, 

 10-20 cm. broad; herbage entirely glabrous except a few ciliate hairs at the 

 bases of the leaves; stems 5-10 cm. long, green, scarcely shining, branched; 

 leaves ovate, plane, short-acuminate, dull, rather thin but the veins obscure, 

 5-lS mm. long, nearly as long as the internodes, each abruptly narrowed into 

 a short petiole which bears a few long hairs; flowers solitary in the axils, the 

 pedicels mostly shorter than the leaves; sepals oblong-ovate, acutish, green 

 with a narrow white scarious margin, thin, 3-nerved, 2-2.5 mm. long; petals 

 none; pods green, ovoid, not longer than the calyx; seeds dark brown, 0.5 mm. 

 long. 



Springy places in canyons, ridges south from Wiessner's Peak, Idaho, 

 altitude 1700 m., Leiberg; along rivulets in woods, altitude 1400 m.. Blue 

 Mountains, Columbia County, Washington, Piper. 



