SILENE. 



downy. Leaves ovato-lanceolate. — Found by Mr. Nuttal, 

 growing wild, in great abundance, in the neighbourhood of 

 St. Louis, on the Miffifippi, North America, from whence 

 feeds were communicated to A. B. Lambert, efq. who raifed 

 this fine plant in his garden at Boyton, Wilts. The Jem is 

 two or three feet high, fomewhat angular. Herbage green, 

 finely downy and vifcid ; at leall in the upper part. Panicle 

 raceniofe, partly forked, compofed of about a dozen large 

 Jlotvers, confpicuous for the vivid fcarlet of their long lanceo- 

 late /f/a/r, /amfnj, wAJlyles. The calyx is above an inch 

 in length, angular, ten-ribbed, (lightly fwelling upwards. 

 The petals are faid to be fometinics emarginate. We guefs 

 at their erejl from the figure cited, which is not fufficiently 

 explicit on this important point. 



S. Otites. Spanifh Catchfl}'. Fl. Brit. n. 7. Ait. n. 12. 

 Prodr. Fl. Grsc. n. 1014. (Cucubalus Otites; Linn. Sp. 

 PI. 594. Willd. Sp. PI. V. 2. 6S8. Engl. Bot. t. 85. Fl. 

 Dan. t. 518. Sefamoides falamanticum magnum; Ger. 

 Em. 493.) — Panicle erect, much branched, tufted. Flowers 

 dioecious. Petals hnear, undivided, without acred. Leaves 

 fpatulate, rough. — Native of dry gravelly open paftures 

 throughout Europe, flowering in July and Auguft. In 

 England it chiefly occurs in the elevated champaign country 

 of Cambridgefliire, Suffolk, and fome parts of Norfolk, 

 where its green panicles may eafily be confounded with thofe 

 of the accompanying grafles. The >-oot is woody and peren- 

 nial. Stems ereft, two feet high, flightly leafy, very vifcid 

 in the middle part of their upper joints. Leaves copious 

 about the root, about an inch in length, on very lung (talks ; 

 in Britifh fpecimens they are fpatulate, clothed with minute 

 curved pubefcence ; in Greek ones obovate, with longer 

 hairs. The whole plant indeed varies greatly as to luxu- 

 riance, but we cannot difcern a fpecific difference. Flowers 

 fmall, with narrow pale yellow /■cteZf, and a purplifh calyx. 

 Thtjlamens are ufually imperfcft, or obliterated, in all the 

 flowers of one root, and the pjjlils in thofe of another ; but 

 occafionally both are perfedl in the fame. Capfule feffile, 

 hardly bigger than a grain of wheat, fplitting into fix 

 teeth. 



S. lini/olia. Flax-leaved Catchfly. Sm. Prodr. Fl. Grsc. 

 Sibth. n. 1015. Fl. Grsec. t. 433, unpubliflied. — Stems pani- 

 eled at the top. Flowers ereft. Petals in two deep rounded 

 lobes ; their creft two-lobed, blunt. Leaves linear-laiKco- 

 late, rough. — Found by Dr. Sibthorp on mount Parnaffus. 

 The root is perennial, thick, woody, yellowifh within, much 

 divided at the fummit. Stems numerous, about a foot high, 

 ereft, clofe, leafy, roughifh, quite fimple, except in the 

 flowering part, very vifcid between feveral of the upper 

 joints. Leaves numerous, narrow, acute, above an inch 

 long, minutely rough, of a glaucous green. Floiuers ereft, 

 in clofe, irregular, (lender panicles. Calyx green, fmooth, 

 not quite an inch in length, ten-ribbed. Limb of the petals 

 flefli-coloured above ; greenifh, with purple veins, beneath. 

 Capfule on a ilalk as long as itfelf. Theiejlowers, and thofe 

 of the following, are probably fragrant at night. 



S. Jlaticlfolia. Thrift-leaved Catchfly. Sm. Prodr. Fl. 

 Grac. Sibth. n. 1016. Fl.Grasc. t.434, unpublilhed. — Pani- 

 cle racemofe, fimple, clofe. Flowers ered. Petals in two deep 

 rounded lobes ; their creft two-lobed, blunt. Leaves hnear- 

 fpatulatc, acute, very fmooth. Capfule fllorter than its 

 ftalk. — Gathered by Dr. Sibthorp in Greece. — The root 

 appears to be perennial, and fomewhat creeping. Stem 

 folitary, a foot high, flightly leafy, fmooth, hke every other 

 part of the plant; the middle of its upper joint, below the 

 inflorefcence, vifcid. Radical leaves numerous, (talked, 

 narrow, glaucous, two inches long, including the ftalks. 

 flowers few. Calyx club-fhaped, an inch and a quarter 



long, fmooth, with ten purple ribs. Limb of the pelah 

 inflexed ; white above ; cinnamon-coloured beneath, Tlie 

 ftali fupporting all the parts of the flower, within the calyx, 

 is remarkable for its length, which nearly equals the petals, 

 and exceeds the ripe capfule. 



Seft. 5. Stems fingle-jlo'wered. 



S. auriculata. Auricled Mountain Catchfly. Sm. Prodr. 

 Fl. GrsEC. Sibth. n. 1017. Fl. Grsc. t. 435, unpubliflied. 

 — Stems fingle-flowered. Leaves lanceolate, fringed. Calyx 

 bell-fliaped, downy. Petals cloven, auricled on each fide 

 at the bafe. — Gathered by Dr. Sibthorp, on the precipices 

 of mount Delphi, in Negropont. The perennial root runs 

 deep into the earth, and is crowned by numerous, denfe, 

 rofe-like tufts, of bright green, ovato-lanceolate, (harp- 

 pointed leaves, an inch long ; fmooth above ; their carti- 

 laginous edges fringed with white hairs. Stems folitary, 

 ered, fimple, downy and vifcid, a finger's length, bearing 

 two or three diltant pairs of fmaller leaves. Flowers ereft, 

 the fize of 5. maritima. Calyx fwelling upwards ; its veins 

 and fegments purplilh. Limb of ihe petals deflexed, in two 

 rather deep, oblong, rounded fegments, furnifhed at tlie 

 bafe with two very peculiar lateral appendages ; their crell 

 of two fpreading lobes ; their upper fide white, tipped with 

 pale purple ; the under reticulated with purple veins. Cap- 

 fule ovate, nearly thrice the length of its ftalk. 



S.falcata. Sickle-leaved Mountain Catchfly. Sm. Prodr. 

 Fi. Grjec. Sibth. n. 1018. Fl. Grxc. t. 436, unpublifhed. — 

 Stems fingle-flowered. Leaves awl-fhaped, curved, hairy. 

 Calyx club-fhaped. Petals cloven ; their claws wedge- 

 fhaped. — Gsthered by Dr. Sibthorp, on the fummit of the 

 Bithynian Olympus. An elegant and remarkable fpecies. 

 The long perennial root refembles the laft, except in being 

 of a whiter colour. Stems very (hort, tufted, decumbent. 

 Leaves crowded, fickle-(haped, about an inch long, rigid, 

 rough with vifcid hairs, three-ribbed, permanent, turning 

 white with age. Stems afcending, a finger's length, purplifh, 

 hairy and vifcid, flightly leafy. Flonvers ereft, cream- 

 coloured, with a flcnder, rough, blood-red calyx, above an 

 inch long. The Jlalk, bearing the parts of the flower within, 

 is nearly equal to the calyx itfelf, and much longer than the 

 ripe capfule. Petals with broad claws, dilated upward, and 

 a creft of two bluntifh lobes. Germen brownifh below, with 

 two crimfon bands ; green above. 



S. Pumilio. Dwarf Mountain Catchfly or Campion. 

 Wulf. in Jacq. Coll. v. 2. 126. t. 10. Jacq. Auftr. ap- 

 pend. 26. t. 2. Willd. n. 55. (Cucubalus Pumilio ; Linn. 

 Mant. 71. Carj-ophyllus fylveftris oftavus ; Cluf. Kift. 

 V. I. 285. C. montanus Clufii ; Ger. Em. 593. Betonica 

 coronaria ; Bauh. Hill. v. 3. ^37.) — Stems fingle-flowered. 

 Radical leaves Imear-lanceolate, fmooth. Calyx nearly cy- 

 lindrical, hairy. Petals undivided ; their creft briftle-fhaped. 

 — Native of the mountains of Carinthia, Moravia, and 

 Italy, in a micaceous foil. A very handfome fpecies. The 

 root is perennial, crowned with denfe tufts of graffy, or 

 thrift-like, rather fucculent leaves, about an inch long; 

 among which are feveral, folitary, partly decumbent, fimple 

 Jems, about twice that length, bearing a pair or two of 

 fmaller fringed leaves. The Jlo-zvers are very large in pro- 

 portion, rofe-coloured, and, according to Arduino, who 

 fent fpecimens to Linnseus, very fragrant, though Clufius 

 and Wulfen defcribe them as without fcent. The calyx is 

 an inch long, flightly bell-fhaped, reddifh, denfely clothed 

 with foft whitifh hairs. Limb of the petals rounded, wavy, 

 but not lobed ; their creft, overlooked by Arduino, of two 

 ereft flender crimfon teeth, growing pale as the flower fades. 

 Girmen nearly or quite feffile. 



S. acaulis. Mofs Campion, or Catchfly. Linn, Sp. 



PI. 



