380 CAEYOtHYLLACEAB (PINK FAMILY) 



seeded. — Low usually tufted herbs, with sessile exstipulate leaves and small 

 white flowers. (Name from arena, sand, in which many of the species grow.) 



— The following sections are by many botanists taken for genera. 



§ 1. MOEHRfNGIA (L.) Fries. Ovary at first Z-celled ; seeds few, smooth, 

 vrith a thichish appendage at the hilum ; perennials with broadish leaves, 



1. A. lateriflbra L. Sparingly branched, minutely pubescent ; leaves oval 

 or oblong, obtuse (1-2 cm. long) ; peduncles 2(rarely 3-4)-flowered, soon be- 

 coming lateral ; sepals oblong, obtuse. {Moehringia Fenzl.) — Gravelly shores, 

 thickets, etc., Nfd. to Pa., Mo., and northw. May, June. (Eu.) 



2. A. macroph^Ua Hook. Similar; leaves lance-oblong, acute; sepals 

 lanceolate, acuminate. {Moehringia Torr.) — N. Guilford and Durham, Ct. 

 {&. H. Bartlett, Harger), Vt., Lab., L. Superior, and north westw. 



§2. AMMODfcNIA (Patrin) B. & H. Styles, cells of the ovary and valves of 

 the fleshy pod 3, rarely i or 5 ; seeds few, smooth, short-beaked at the naked 

 hilum; disk under the ovary more prominent than usual, glandular, 10- 

 lobed ; flowers almost sessile in the axils, sometimes dioecious or polyga- 

 mous ; perennial. 



3. A. peploides L. Stems (simple or forking from long rootstocks) and 

 ovate partly clasping leaves (1.5-2 cm. long) very fleshy. (^Ammodenia Rupr.) 



— Sea-shore, N. J. to Me. and northw. June. (Eu.) 



§ 3. ARENARIA proper. Pod splitting wholly or part way down into 3 or at 

 length 6 valves ; seeds many, naked at the hilum. 



4. A. SERPTLLir6LiA L. (Thyme-leaved S.) Roughish-pubesoent or pu- 

 berulent, 5-15 cm. high ; leaves ovate, small, acute ; cymes leafy ; sepals lanceo- 

 late, pointed, 8-5-nerved, about equaling the petals ; capsule flask-shaped, of 

 firm texture. — Sandy or rocky soil, chiefly about towns. June-Aug. (Nat. 

 from Eu.) 



5. A. lept6clados Guss. Similar to the preceding ; leaves lanceolate ; 

 cymes nearly naked ; capsule subcylindric, papery. (A. serpyllifolia, va,T.'ten- 

 uior Koch.) — Locally, Me. to Mich. {Farwell), and westw. (Adv. from Eu.) 



§ 4. ALSInE (Gaertn.) B. & H. Pod splitting to the base into 3 entire valves ; 

 seeds many, usually rough, naked at the hilum; flowers terminal or cy- 

 mose ; leaves linear or subulate. 



Sepals lanceolate, acuminate. 

 Lateral nerves oi the leaves none or mucli smaller than the midnerve. 



Petals retuse 6. A.paiula. 



Petals entire. 

 Capsule lonprer and petals shorter than the sepals . . . . 7. .4. litor&a. 

 Capsule shorter and petals much longer than the sepals . , . B. A. siricta. 



Leaves with 3 nearly equal nerves 9. A.'Venia, v. propingua. 



Sepals obtuse or obtusish, inconspicuously veined, not nerved. 



Leaves rlijid, pungent; petals entu-e 10. A. caroUniana. 



Leaves soft, herbaceous ; petals usually retuse 11. A. groenlandica. 



6. A. pitula Michx. Diffusely branched from a slender root; stems 5- 

 30 cm. long ; branches of the cyme divergent ; peduncles long ; sepals 3-5-nerved. 



. — Ky. to n. Ill,, Minn., and southw. to Tex. and Fla. 



7. A. litbrea Fernald. Perennial, densely tufted; stems several to many, 

 6-14 cm. high, leafy chiefly toward the- base ; leaves firm, subulate, commonly 

 proliferous in the axils ; sepals 3-nerved ; capsule 5 mm. long, well exserted at 

 maturity. — Gravelly beaches and calcareous bluffs, e. Que. ; and north shore of 

 L. Superior (Loring, G. 8. Miller). 



8. A. stricta Michx. Erect or diffusely spreading from a small root, smooth ; 

 leaves slender, between awl-shaped and bristle-form, with many others clustered 

 in the axils ; cyme diffuse, naked, many-flowered ; sepals 3-ribbed, ovate. {A. 

 Michauxii Hook, f.) — Rooks and dry wooded banks, Mt. Washington, N. H. 

 {Manning) ; Vt. to S. C, Minn., westw. and southwestw. July. 



