36 



THALAMIFI.OR/R 



hrads 3, at the base of each flower ; stems 

 ascending, herbaceous ; leaves narrow. 

 Common on heaths and dry pastures, 

 where it is highly ornamental during the 

 later summer months, with its starlike, 

 blue, pink, or white flowers. — Fl. June to 

 August. Perennial. 



Besides the common form, P. vulgaris, 

 several more or less distinct varieties 

 have been distinguished, and classed as 

 species. Of thesfe the more important 

 are as follows : P. nxypkra, with narrow 

 '^sS^ leaves ; flowers small, far apart ; inner 

 sepals narrow ; local. P. depressa — inner 

 sepals broader than in the t^'pe ; common. 

 P. calcarea — lotaer leaves tufted ; calyx- 

 wings blunt, with the veins scarcely netted ; has ceased to flower 

 almost before the common milkwort has commenced. P. amara — 

 plant small ; inngs narrow ; flowers pink ; confined to Cronkley 

 Fell, Yorkshire. P. Austriaca — flowers larger, blue ; confinecl to 

 Kent. 



PoLYG.\LA Vulgaris 

 [Conunon Milkwort) 



Natural Order XII 



FRANKENIACE/E.— Sea Heaths 



Sepals 4-6, united into a furrowed tube, not falling off ; petals 

 equal in number to the sepals, furnished with long claws, and 

 usually having scales at the junction of 

 the claw and limb ; stamens equal in 

 number to the petals ; ovary i ; style 

 threadlike, 2, 3, or 4-cleft ; capsule 

 i-celled, 2, 3, or 4-valved ; seeds very 

 minute, attached to the edges of the 

 valves. Herbaceous or somewhat shrubby 

 plants, with branched stems, opposite 

 leaves without stipules, but a membranous 

 sheathing base, and numerous small sessile 

 flowers in the axils of the upper leaves. 

 An Order of only one genus, the species of 

 which are pretty widelydistributedover the 

 temperate and warm sea-coasts of the worl cl. 



I. Fkankenia (Sea Heath). — Style cleft 

 into 3 lobes, with the stigma on the inner 

 side ; capsule 3 to 4-valved. (Name from 

 John Franken, a Swedish botanist.) Frankenia (Sea Heath) 



