44 



THALAMIFLORiE 



7. HoLOSTEUM {Jagged Chickweed) 



I. H. umhellatmn (Umbellifeious Jagged Chick- 

 weed). — A singular little^ plant, 4-5 inches high, 

 with leafy stems, which are smooth below and 

 hairy and viscid between the joints above. The 

 flowers grow in terminal umbrels about 5 together, 

 and are bent back after flowering, rising again 

 when the capsule ripens. Petals white. Very 

 rare ; found only on old walls, etc., in Norfolk 

 and Suffolk. — Fl. Aprii. Annual. 



8. Stellaria (Stitchwort) 



1. S. aqualica (Water Stellaria or Water Mouse- 

 ear Chickweed). — Lower leaves stalked ; upper 

 sessile, heart-shaped, tapering to a point, all 

 hairy at the margin ; capsule opening with 5 

 2 -cleft teeth. A much -branched, straggling 

 plant, with white flowers in the angles of the 

 stems, and in habit approaching Stellaria 

 nemormn. Wet places, but"not general. — Fl. July, 

 August. Perennial, 



2. 5. nemormn (Wood Starwort). — Stems as- 

 cending, 6-12 inches high ; leaves heart-shaped. 



Flowers white, in loose cymes ; petals deeply cloven. Dain}) 

 woods, chiefly in the north. — Fl. summer. Perennial. 



3. S. media (Chickweed). — Leaves egg-shaped, with a short point ; 

 stems with a hairy line alternating from side to side ; petals deeply 

 2-clett, not longer than the sepals ; stamens usually 10, sometimes 5. 

 Leaves succulent ; flowers small, white. Well distinguished by a 

 hairy line which runs up one side of the stem, and when it reaches 

 a pair of leaves is continued on the opposite side. Abundant as a 

 garden weed, in waste places and by roadsides. — Fl. all the year 

 round. Annual. 



4. S. uliginosa (Bog Stitchwort). — Stems spreading, angular ; 

 leaves broadly lanceolate, with a stiff tip, smooth ; flowers panicled ; 

 petals deeply 2-cleft, shorter than the 3-nerved sepals, which are 

 united at the base. A slender plant 6-12 inches long, with very 

 small white flowers. — Fl. May, June. Annual. 



5. S. graminea (Lesser Stitchwort). — Stem nearly erect, angular, 

 smooth ; leaves very narrow, acute, smooth-edged ; flowers in forked 

 panicles ; petals very deeply cleft, scarcely longer than the 3-nerved 

 sepals. Much smaller than the preceding in all its parts, and dis- 

 tinguished at once by the very deeply divided petals, which are 

 white but not so showy. Dry heathy places, roadsides, etc., com- 

 mon. — Fl. June, July. Perennial. 



HoLOSTEUM 



Umbellatum 



( Umbellifevoiis 



Jagged Chickweed) 



