PARONYCHIACB*. 



689 



from southern Europe, closely resembling them, and perhaps mere 

 varieties. 



Root annual. Calyx-lobes pointed 1. Annual S. 



Stock perennial. Calyx-lobes obtuse, edged with white . . 2. Perennial S. 



1. Annual Scleranth. Scleranthus annuus, Linn. (Fig. 829.) 

 (Eng. Bot. t. 351. Knawel.) 



A much branched, erect or spreading 

 annual, 2 to 3 inches high, glabrous or 

 very slightly downy. Leaves very nar- 

 row, 2 to 3 lines long. Calyx enlarged 

 after flowering to about 1^ lines in 

 length ; the lobes stiff, erect, narrow, 

 and pointed, about equal in length to the 

 tube. 



In fields and waste places, over the 

 whole of Europe and western Asia, ex- 

 cept the extreme north. Abundant in 

 England, Ireland, and southern Scot- 

 land, but scarce in the north. Fl. 

 all summer. 



Fig. 829. 



2. Perennial Scleranth. Scleranthus perennis, Linn. 



(Eig. 830.) 



(Eng. Bot. t. 352.) 



This species so much resembles the 

 annual S. that it is by some considered 

 as a mere variety, but the root and tufted 

 lower part of the stem will last two or 

 three years. The flowering stems, 

 usually about 2 inches high, are more 

 rigid, the flowers more densely collected 

 in terminal cymes, and the calyx is 

 rather smaller, with obtuse divisions, 

 bordered by a much more conspicuous 

 white edging. 



With nearly the same general range 

 in Europe and Asia as the annual S., it - Fig. 830. 



