680 



THE PLUMBAGO FAMILY. 



of which the outer ones form a kind of involucre, and the two outer- 

 most of all are lengthened below their insertion into appendages forming 

 a sheath round the upper part of the peduncle. Calyx usually drier 

 and more scarious than in Statice, the petals scarcely united at their 

 very base, and the styles hairy in the lower part. 



A genus of very few species, separated from Statice chiefly on ac- 

 count of their inflorescence, which gives them a peculiar habit. 



Leaves narrow- linear, 1-nerved. Teeth of the calyx short . .1. Common T. 

 Leaves lanceolate-linear, 3- or 5-nerved. Teeth of the calyx long 



and fine 2. Plantain T. 



1. Common Thrift. Armeria vulgaris, Willd. (Fig. 818.) 

 (Statice Armeria, Eng. Bot. t. 226. A. maritima, Brit. El.) 



The stock forms perennial tufts, with 

 numerous radical leaves, all narrow- 

 linear, entire, with a single prominent 

 midrib. Flowering stems simple and 

 leafless, glabrous or shortly downy, 3 or 

 4 inches to twice that height, each bear- 

 ing a globular head of pink or some- 

 times white flowers ; the petal-like bor- 

 der of the calyx crowned by 5 very short, 

 slender teeth. 



On muddy or sandy sea-shores, and 

 on maritime rocks, in the northern he- 

 misphere, from the Arctic regions to 

 near the tropics, reappearing in the 

 southern hemisphere beyond the tropics, 

 and also at considerable elevations in 

 the high mountain- chains of Europe and 

 Asia. Abundant on our British coasts 

 and on the tops of some of the Scotch mountains. Fl. summer. 



Fig. 818. 



2. Plantain Thrift. 



Armeria plantaginea, "Willd. 

 (Fig. 819.) 



(Eng. Bot. Suppl. t. 2928.) 



"Very near the last, and perhaps one of its numerous forms, but the 

 leaves are much broader, usually marked with 3 or 5 parallel nerves, 



