SPERGULA. 



Jufl". 301. Lamarck lUuflr. t. 392. Gsrtn. t. 130. — 

 Clafs and order, Decandrin Penlagynia. Nat. Ord. Caryo- 

 phyllei, Linn. CaryophylUa, Juli. 



Gen. Ch. Cal. Perianth inferior, of five ovate, obtufe, 

 concave, fpreading, permanent leaves. Cor. Petals five, 

 ovate, concave, fpreading, undivided, larger than the calyx. 

 Stam. Filaments ten, rarely but five, awl-(hapcd, (horter 

 than the corolla ; anthers roundilh. Pi/i. Germen fuperior, 

 ovate; ftyles five, fomewhat reflcxcd, thread-fhaped ; iligmas 

 thicki'lh. Perk. Capfule ovate, covered partly by the calyx, 

 of one cell, and five valves. Seeds numerous, globofe, but 

 deprefled, furrounded with more or lefs of a notched or 

 dilated border. ,. . . , 



EfT. Ch. Calyx of five leaves. Petals five, undivided. 

 Capfule fuperior, ovate, of one cell, with five valves. 



Obf. Linnseus remarks, that tliis genus differs from 

 Cerajlium in having undivided petals. Their general habit 

 alfo differs more than is the cafe with molt genera of this 

 natural order, that of Spergula nearly according with various 

 jlrenarlte, from which the five ftyles only diftinguilh it. 

 S. pentandra has but five llamens. 



1. S. arvenfis- Rough-feeded Corn Spurrey. Linn. Sp. 

 PI. 630. Willd. n. I. Fl. Brit. n. I. Engl. Bot. t. 1535. 

 Curt. Lond. fafc. 5. t. 31. (Sagina fpergula ; Ger. Em. 

 1125.)— Leaves whorled. Stalks of the fruit reflexed. 

 Seeds kidney-fliaped, angular, rough. — Native of corn-fields 

 and watle ground, on a fandy foil, throughout Europe, 

 flowering from July to September. Root annual, fmall. 

 Herb more or lefs downy and vifcid, very various in luxu- 

 riance, fomewhat fucculent and brittle, with a branched, 

 round, loofely fpreading _/?<ot, whofe joints are befet with 

 copious, whorled, linear, obtufe leaves. Panicles terminal, 

 forked, divaricated, level-topped. Flonuer-Jlalks downy ; 

 ftrongly reflexed, from the bafe, as the fruit ripens. Calyx 

 membranous at the edge, nearly as long as the vihite petals. 

 Stamens generally ten ; fometimes five, or fome intermediate 

 number. Capfule almoft twice as long as the calyx. Seeds 

 numerous, kidney-fhaped or roundifh, fwelling, angular, 

 with an obfolete, not dilated nor membranous, border ; 

 when ripe they are black, and rough all over with minute 

 tubercles or briftles. In Flanders, Germany, and the north 

 of Europe, this herb ferves as fodder, and poultry are fed 

 with its feeds. With us it is a troublefome weed, on a light 

 foil. 



2. Si. pentandra. Smooth-feeded Corn Spurrey. Linn. Sp. 

 PL 630. Willd. n. 2. Engl. Bot. t. 1536. (S. annua, 

 femine foliaceo nigro, circulo membranaceo albo cineto ; 

 Dill. Giff. 46. ) — Leaves whorled. Stalks of the fruit re- 

 flexed. Stamens five. Seeds lenticular, fmooth, with a 

 membranous border. — Native of Germany, England, and 

 probably other parts of Europe, in fandy ground, flower- 

 ing in July and Auguft. Mr. Shepherd, curator of the 

 botanic garden at Liverpool, firft obferved this plant about 

 that neighbourhood, growing along with the preceding 

 fpecies, with which it altogether agrees in general ap- 

 pearance, but the Jloiuers are perhaps rather fmaller, and 

 t}it\T Jlamens are rarely more than five in number. The mofl 

 remarkable difference is found in ihe/eeds, which are com- 

 prelTed and lenticular, always fmooth, and bordered by a 

 very confpicuous whitifh membrane. Such is the difference 

 likewife between Arenarla marina and rubra. We cannot 

 but feel a miftruft of this charafter, however ftriking, con- 

 fidering the clofe relemblance between thefe two Spergula, 

 at lealt, in other rcfpects. The plant found about Liver- 

 pool is certainly what Linnxus and Dillenius intended, and 

 therefore the uncertainty expreffed in Fl. Brit, refpefting 

 S. pentandra, is now removed. 



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3. S. nodofa. Knotted Spurrey. Linn. Sp. PI. 630, 

 Willd. n. 3. Fl. Brit. n. 3. Engl. Bot. t. 694. Curt. 

 Lond. fafc. 4. t. 34. Fl. Dan. t. 96. (Saxifraga paluitris 

 alfinefolia ; Ger. Em. 567.) — Leaves oppofite, avvl-fhaped, 

 fmooth ; the upper ones cluftered. Calyx withr>i.t ribs. — 

 Native of wet fandy heaths and commons, in the colder 

 countries of Europe, flowering in July and Auguft, but 

 not very common with us. Mr. Goodyer, an accurate and 

 ingenious contributor to the fecond edition of Gerarde's 

 Herbal, firft detefted this fpecies in England. Its habit is 

 that of an Arenaria, efpecially the pure vih^le Jlotucrs . The 

 fibrous perennial root produces feveral fpreading or proftrate 



Jlems, three or four inches l:ing, flightly branched, befet 

 with many pairs of awl-lhapcd, fhort, fmooth, dark-greea 

 leaves, accompanied by axillary tufts of fmaller ones, giving 

 the herb a knotty or jointed afpeA. Flowers large, ftalked, 

 about the extremities of the items. Styles five, as well as 

 the valves of the capfule, by which alone this plant is fepa- ' 

 rated from Arenaria. 



4. S. laricina. Larch-leaved Spurrey. Linn. Sp. PI. 631. 

 Willd. n. 4. Sm. Plant. Ic. t. 18. (Alfine n. 6i : Gmel. 

 Sib. v. 4. 15J.) — Leaves oppofite, awl-fhaped, fringed, 

 cluftered. — A rare fpecies, found by Steller in Siberia. It 

 differs from the laft in being fomewhat larger, with longer, 

 acute leaves, fringed at the bafe. Englifh botanifts had been 

 accuftomed to confider the following as the true S. laricina, 

 till the Linnxan herbarium taught them to correft this 

 error. 



5. S. faginoides. Smooth Awl-fhaped Spurrey. Linn. 

 Sp. PI. 631. Willd. n. 5. Fl. Brit. n. 4. Engl. Bot. 

 t. 2105. (Abine n. 64; Gmel. Sib. v. 4. 157.) — Leaves 

 oppofite, awl-fhaped, pointlefs, naked. Flower-ftalks foli- 

 tary, very long, fmooth. — A rare inhabitant of the Sccttifh 

 highland mountains, flowering in June. Gmelin found it in 

 Siberia. The perennial fibrous root refembles that of S. 

 nodifa, but the herb is fmaller, more branched and ereft> 

 without any axillary clufters of leaves, and having more re- 

 femblance to a Sagina than an Arenaria. Every part is quite 

 fmooth, by which, and the want of a briftly point to the 

 leaves, this Spergula effentially and conftantly differs from 

 the more common one next defcribed. The flowers are ter- 

 minal, rather drooping, on long, folitary ftalks. Petals 

 white, roundifh, hardly fo long as the calyx. Stamens ten. 

 ProfefFor Swartz defcribes but five, which makes us doubt* 

 ful of his plant. Seeds kidney-fhaped, without any edge or 

 border. 



6. S.fubulala. Ciliated Awl-ftiaped Spurrey. Swartz 

 in Stockh. Tranf. for 1789, 45. t. i. f. 3. Willd. n. 6. 

 Fl. Brit. n. 5. Engl. Bot. t. 1082. (S. laricina; Hudf. 

 203. Fl. Dan. t. 858. S. faginoides ; Curt. Lond. fafc. 4. . 

 t. 35. Sagina procumbens J ; Linn. Sp. PI. 185. 1 — Leaves 

 oppofite, awl-fhaped, fringed, tipped with a briftly point. 

 Flower-ftalks folitary, very long, fomewhat hairy. — Native 

 of fandy barren heaths in the north of Europe, flowering 

 with us from June to Auguft. It is perennial, and re- 

 fembles the laft in general habit, but the leaves are conftantly 

 fringed with glandular hairs, and tipped with a briftly point. 

 The Jloivers too are fmaller, with generally hairy glutinous 

 ftalks, and ufually but fi\ejlamens. Seeds fmall, compreffed, 

 pale brown, encircled with a black line, but no dilated 

 border. 



7. S. glabra. Smooth Capillary Spurrey. Willd. n. 7, 

 (S. faginoides; AUion. Pedem. v. 2. n8. t. 64. f. i, ex- 

 cluding the fynonyms.) — Leaves oppofite, thread-fhaped» 

 fmooth, cluftered. Flower-ltalks folitary, very long, Imootb. 

 — Common in the graffy alpine paftures of Savoy, accord- 

 ing to AUioni, by whofe work alone we have any knowledge 



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