Annual.— Flowers in July and August. 
Root small, tapering, fibrous. Stems numerous, straggling, 
slender, from 3 to 6 inches long, decumbent, round, leafy, dichoto- 
mously branched, pale green, sometimes reddish, downy chiefly on 
opposite sides. Leaves strap-shaped, pointed, keeled, entire, op- 
posite, and combined at the base by a membranous ciliated margin. 
Flowers small and inconspicuous, of a pale green colour, nearly 
sessile, partly axillary, partly collected into dense forked tufts. 
Tube of the Calyx (see figs. 1 & 2.) egg-shaped, with 10 ribs, and 
as many furrows ; limb in 5, egg-spear-shaped, pointed segments, 
white and membranous at the edges, spreading when in flower, 
upright when in fruit. Stamens shorter than the calyx, some- 
times 10, but frequently only from 5 to 8, some being often short 
and imperfect. Styles spreading. Stigmas downy. Capsule in- 
closed in the permanent, hardened calyx. 
This plant is not uncommon on a sandy soil, especially in fallow 
fields, and in most parts of Europe and Siberia. It was formerly 
collected in large quantities for dyeing red in the Ukraine, Li- 
thuania, &c., and is still employed by the Turks and Armenians 
for dyeing wool, silk, and hair, as also for staining the nails of 
women’s fingers. In Europe its use is generally superseded by 
the true Cochineal, ( Coccus Cacti,) which has been cultivated in 
the Intendency of Oaxaca, Mexico, several centuries, and of which, 
according to Dr. Bancroft, 375,000 1. worth are annually con- 
sumed in Britain. The Swedes and Germans receive the vapours 
arising from a decoction of this species into their mouths to cure 
the tooth-ache. 
Goats and sheep eat the plant ; cows refuse it. 
The Polish scarlet grain or cochineal, ( Coccus Polonicus ,) is 
found upon the roots of this and the other British species (Scleran- 
thus perennis,) in the Summer months. Withering. — Some au- 
thors consider S. perennis as not differing specifically from S. 
annuus. 
The Natural Order Scleranthe.e consists of apetalous, di- 
cotyledonous, small herbaceous plants, with opposite leaves, without 
stipulas. Their flowers are hermaphrodite, axillary, and sessile. 
The calyx (see fig. 1.) is 4- or 5-toothed, with a urceolate (pitcher- 
shaped) tube, into the orifice of which the stamens, from 1 to 10, 
are inserted. The ovarium is simple, superior, and 1-seeded ; 
with 2 styles, or, sometimes, only 1, their apex emarginate. The 
fruit is a membranous utricle enclosed within the hardened calyx. 
The seed is pendulous from the apex of a funiculus*, which arises 
from the bottom of the cell ; and the embryo is cylindrical, and 
curved round farinaceous albumen. 
* A little stalk, by which the seed is attached to the placenta. 
