( 71 .) 
LY'CHNIS* *. 
JLinnean Class and Order. DECA'NDRiAf, Pentagy'nia. 
Natural Order. Caryophy'lle^e, Juss. G-m. Plant. p. 299. — 
Sm. Gram, of Bot. p. 159. — Lindl. Syn. p. 43 ; Introd. to Nat. Syst. 
p. 156. — Rich, by Macgilliv. p. 507. — Loud. Hort. Brit. p. 501. 
Gen. Char. Calyx (fig. 1.) inferior, of 1 sepal, tubular, oblong, 
membranous, ribbed, 5-toothed, permanent. Corolla of 5 p tals ; 
their claws flat, thin edged, as long as the tube of the calyx, usually 
crowned at the mouth ; border flat, spreading, mostly divided. 
Filaments (fig. 2.) 10, longer than the calyx; 5 alternate ones 
later than the rest, and attached to the claws of the petals. Anthers 
oblong, incumbent. Germen (fig. 3.) superior, nearly egg-shaped. 
Styles (fig. 3.) 5, (occasionally 3 or 4) , awl-shaped, longer than the 
stamens. Stigmas reflexed, downy. Capsule (figs. 4 & 6.) more 
or less perfectly egg-shaped, of 1, 3, or 5 cells, opening by 5 or 10 
recurved teeth. Seeds (figs. 7 & 8.) many, roundish, roughish, at- 
tached to the unconnected central receptacle or placenta. 
In Ly'chnis vescdria the petals are scarcely divided, and the 
capsule has 5 cells. In Ly'chnis dioica the stamens and pistils are, 
for the most part, separated ; that is, growing on two different 
plants. 
Distinguished from other g mera in the same class and order, by 
the 5- or 1 -celled many-seeded capsule, and the tubular, mem- 
branous, 5-toothed calyx. 
Four or five species British. 
LY'CHNIS FLOS CU'CULIJ. Meadow Lychnis. Ragged 
Robin. 
Spec. Char. Petals in 4 strap-shaped segments. Capsule 
roundish, of 1 cell. 
Engl. Bot. t. 573. — Curt. FI. Lond. t. 33. — Linn. Sp. PI. p. 625 — lluds. FI. 
Angl. (‘2nd ed.) p. 199- — Sm. FI. Brit. v. ii. p. 493. Eng. FI. v. ii, p. 326. — 
With. (7tb ed.) v. ii. p. 563. — Lindl. Syn. p. 47. — Hook. Brit. FI. p. 212. — Light. 
FI. Scot. v. i. p.239. — Sibth. FI Oxon. p. 145. — Abbot’s FI. Bedf. p. 100. — 
I’urt. Midi. FI. v. i. p. 221. — Kelli. FI. Cantab. (3rd ed.) p. 183. — Hook. FI. 
Scot. p. 141. — Grev. FI. F.din. p. 102. — FI. Levon, pp. 77 & 182. — Johnston’s 
FI. of Berwick, v. i. p. 100. — Walk. FI. of Oxf. p. 128. — Mack. Catal. p. 45. — 
Ly'chnis plum aria, Gray’s Nat. Arr. v. ii p. 649. —Ly'chnis plumaria syl- 
vestris simplex , Bay’s Syn. p.338 . — Armordria pratensis mas, Johnson’s 
Gerarde, p. 600. 
Localities. — In most meadows and pastures. 
Perennial. — Flowers in June and July. 
Fig. 1. Calyx. — Fig. 2. The Stamens, and one Petal, a little magnified. — 
Fig. 3. Germen and Pistils. — Fig. 4. Unripe Capsule. — Fig. 5. The Placenta, 
or Receptacle of the Seed. — Fig. 6. Ripe Capsule, with the teeth refluxed. — 
Fig. 7. A Seed. — Fig. 8. The same magnified.— Fig. 9. Part of the Root. 
* From luchnos, Gr. a lamp; the thick cottony substance of the leaves of some 
species, or some similar plant, having been employed as wicks to lamps. Dr. 
Hooker. Or, as others conjecture, from the resemblance of the semi-transparent 
calyx to a lantern. Dr. Withering. 
T See Saponaria officinalis, p. 37. note t* 
t Flos, a flower, and Cuculus, the Cuckoo; Cuckoo-flower. — Goats, sheep, 
and horses are said to eat this plant; cows and swine to refuse it. 
