(304.) 
HERNIARIA* *. 
Linnean Class and Order. Penta'ndria f, Digy'nia. 
Natural Order. Illf.ce'iire.e £, Dr. R. Brown. — Lindl. Syn. 
p. 60.; Introd. to Nat. Syst. of Bot. p. 164.— Paronychieae, 
Rich, by Macgilliv. p. 508. — Loud. Hort. Brit. p. 516. — Don’s 
Gen. Syst. of Gard.and Bot. v. iii. p. 84. — Hook. Brit. FI. (4th ed.) 
p. 407.— Amaranthi, Juss. Gen. PI. p. 87. — Sm. Gram, of Bot. 
p. 92. — Querneales; sect. Rumicinx ; type, Scleranthace.e ; 
Burn. Out. of Bot. pp. 523, 587, & 544. — Holeracex, Linn. 
Gen. Char. Calyx (see figs. 1 & 2.) inferior, of 1 sepal, in 
5 deep, pointed, spreading, permanent segments, somewhat co- 
loured inside. Corolla (see fig. 2.) of 5 thread-shaped, quite entire 
petals §, alternating with the sepals, sometimes wanting, or very 
small. Filaments (see fig. 2.) 5, or by abortion only 2 or 3, awl- 
shaped, shorter than the calyx, and opposite to its segments. 
Jlnthers of 2 roundish lobes. Germen superior, egg-shaped. Styles 
(see fig. 3.) 2, very short, distinct or cohering at the base. Stigmas 
pointed. Capsule (fig. 3.) invested by the calyx, membranous, of 
1 cell, scarcely bursting, except in an irregular manner. Seed 
(fig. 5.) solitary, roundish, polished, pointed, filling the capsule. 
Distinguished from other genera, in the same class and order, by 
the deeply 5-cleft, permanent calyx; the 5 thread-shaped scales 
or petals ; the very short styles ; and the indehiscent, 1 -seeded 
capsule, covered by the calyx. 
Three species British. 
HERNIA'RIA HIRSU'TA. Hairy Rupture-wort. 
Spec. Char. Stem herbaceous, prostrate, clothed with spread- 
ing hairs. Leaves oval-oblong. Flowers sessile, clustered, axillary.. 
Engl. Bot. t. 1379. — Bauh. Hist. v. iii. p. 379, with a figure. — Dill, in Ray’s 
Syn. p. 161. — Linn. Sp. I’l. p. 317. — Huds. FI. Angl. (2nded.) p. 109. — W’illd. Sp. 
l’l. v. i. pt. ii. p. 1297. — Sm. FI. lirit. v. i. p. 272. ; Engl. FI. v. ii. p. 9. — With. 
(2nded.) v. i. p. 250. — Gray’s Nat. Arr. v. ii. p. 547. — Lindl. Syn. p. 61. — Ilook. 
Br. FI. p. 140. ; 2nd edit. p. 126. — Macr. Man. Brit. Bot. p. 86. — Don’s Gen. Syst. 
of Gard. and Bot. v. iii. p. 86. — Bab. in Linn. Soc. Trans, v. xvii. p. 451. — Her- 
niaria glabra, y ar. hirsuta, With. (7th ed.) v. ii. p. 342. — Herniaria vulgaris, 
Spreng. Syst. Veg. v. i. p. 929, in part. 
Locat-itus. — In sandy and gravelly places; very rare. — Middlesex ; At 
Colney-hatch, near Barnet : Hudson, 1778. “ IMiln and Gordon, in their In- 
digenous Botany, v. i. p.455, say, ' we found it in a field at Finchley and at 
Colney-hatch near Barnet, where Hudson observed it.’ It has not, I believe, 
been found since the publication of that work in 1793 Mr. C. C. Babincton, 
in Linn. Trans, v. xvii. p. 452. — The Cornwall and Derby stations given for this 
plant, probably belong to a new British species ( Herniaria ciliataj lately dis- 
covered by Mr. Babington, and described by him in the Transactions of the 
Linnean Society. It differs from H. hirsuta in the hairs on the stem being 
short and decurved, not spreading. 
Fig. 1. Calyx. — Fig. 2. An expanded Flower, showing the Calyx, the very narrow, 
strap-shaped Petals, the Stamens, Germen, and Pistils. — Fig. 3. A Capsule. — Fig. 4 . 
Seeds, natural size. — Fig. 5. A Seed, highly magnified. — Fig. 6. Leaf and smaU 
portion of the stem, slightly magnified. — Figs. 1, 2, 8c 3, highly magnified. 
* From its supposed efficacy in curing hernia. Withering. 
+ See folio 48, note t. J See folio 155, a. 
1 Some Botanists consider these as abortive filaments. 
