Mcenchia Quaternella, Ehrh. Phyt. p. 82 . — Sagina e recta, Engl. Bot. t. 609. — 
Curt. FI. Loud. t. 136. — Limit. Sp. PI. p. 185. — Hulls. FI. Angl. (2nded.) p. 73. — 
Willd. Sp. PI. v. i. pt. i. p. 719. — Sin. FI. Brit. v. i. p. 200. — Maer. Man. Brit. 
But. p. 31.— Dec. Prod. v. i. p. 389. — Liglitf. FI. Snot. v. i. p. 125. — Sibth. FI. 
Oxon. p. 67. — Abbot's FI. Beilf. p. 40. — Davies’ Welsh Bot. p. 19. — Purt. Midi. 
FI. v. i. p. 103. ; and v. iii. p. 340. — Relh. FI. Cant. (3rd edit.) p. 71. — Perry’s PI. 
Varvic. Sel. p. 14 . — Alsinella foliis curyophylleis, Kay’s Syn. p. 344. t. 15. f. 4. 
— Alsine verna glabra, Vaill. Far. p. 6. t. 3. f. 2. 
l.ocAi mts. — In pastures on a gravelly soil, on heathy ground, anil on old 
walls. — Oxfordshire ; Sholover Hill; South Leigh Heath; and I'.nsham Heath. 
— Beds. (Jlophill, and Ampthill Warrens — Cambridgeshire ; Gamlingay, near 
the wind-mills; and on the heath — Cheshire ; Sandy ground in the West of 
Cheshire, about Ralston , ike. — Devon; West Down near Exmouth; Haldon ; 
heaths, and dry hedges, in the neighbourhood of Mnreton and North Bovey ; 
Lympstone. — Durham; In gravel-pits on lluiham Moor; and on limestone 
hills near Sunderland. — Essex; Biptree Heath ; and Kpping Forest. — Hants; 
Shore at Portsmouth ; abundant on sandy commons. — Kent; On Blackheath ; 
and upon sandy ground F.ast of the Castle at Sandgate. — Leicestershire ; Banks 
of Grooby Pool, near the mill. Reservoir, Charnwood forest; also near the 
new Church. — Middlesex ; Old walls in the King’s Road, Chelsea. — Norfolk; 
Stanhoe; S. Denes. — Notts ; Abundant in the neighbourhood of Nottingham. — 
Shropshire; Idawkestone; and near Oswestry. — Somersetshire ; By the road- 
side at Hinton. — Staffordshire ; Litchfield Race-ground. — Suffolk; Bungay. — 
Surrey; Abundant on sandy commons; on Wimbledon Common; Wands- 
worth Common; Olapham Common; Battersea Fields; Baines Common; 
about Moulsey; and on Reigate Heath — Sussex ; Ashdown Forest. — Warwick- 
shire ; Coleshill Heath; Corby Moor, and other like places. — Worcestershire ; 
On the Malvern Hills, as high as 800 feet ; N. Hill, Malvern. — Yorkshire ; Near 
Rotherham. — WALES. Anglesea ; Near Beaumaris, thinly scattered; on 
tucks sparingly covered with earth in Llandegfan ; and on a common called 
Rhos cefn hir, Pentraeth. — Caernarvonshire ; Banks and hilly pastures about 
Bangor. — Montgomeryshire ; Foot, 'and top of Breiddon Hill, near Rodney’s 
Pillar (1109 feet). — SCOTLAND. In pastures, on a gravelly soil. — Not in 
the Flora of IRELAND. 
For authorities, see W atson’s New Botanist's Guide, and the Floras of the 
respective counties. 
Annual. — Flowers in April and May. 
Root small, fibrous. Stems usually several, from 2 to 4 inches 
bio-h, upright, or slightly reclining at the base, round, smooth, leafy. 
Leaves opposite, sessile, strap-spear-shaped, acute, entire, rigid, 
single-ribbed, glaucous. Flowers upright, solitary, on long termi- 
nal peduncles. Sepals (see fig. 1.) large, elliptic-spear-shaped, 
pointed, upright, converging, white and membranous at the edges, 
permanent. Petals (see fig. 2.) white, spear-shaped, entire, about 
as lung as the sepals, withering. Capsule (see fig. 5.) of a light 
shining brown. Seeds (see figs. 7 & 8.) numerous, of an orange- 
brown colour, minutely tuberculated. 
Whole plant of a somewhat glaucous colour, and quite smooth. 
In dry ground the stem is often simple ; but if the situation where 
it grows be moist, it throws out many stems, which at first recline 
on the ground, but afterwards become upright. The calyx never 
opens far, so that the corolla is not suffered fully to expand. 
